


Don't They Know it's the End of the World?

by WhiteravenGreywolf



Series: Coven Apocalypse AU [1]
Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Apocalypse, American Horror Story: Coven
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Background Zadison, Badass good girls surviving the end of the world, But with a happy ending, Coven as one big family, F/F, Fluff, Half ofthe story is slow burn, Never has anyone been more excited about seeds, No Magic AU, Post-Apocalypse, Survival, foxxay - Freeform, the other half is fluff, trials and tribulations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:47:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 46,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23627905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteravenGreywolf/pseuds/WhiteravenGreywolf
Summary: While running away from a group of raiders, Misty finds a little corner of paradise, seemingly sheltered from the end of the world. This mansion once belonged to Cordelia, but now she has opened it to welcome any girl in need of a place to stay. However, surviving the bombs was only the beginning, and now that the world is in chaos, the real survival begins...
Relationships: Misty Day/Cordelia Foxx | Cordelia Goode
Series: Coven Apocalypse AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1716142
Comments: 139
Kudos: 108





	1. Over the Garden Wall

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I'm excited to introduce you my new masterpiece!  
> First and foremost don't be alarmed by the number of chapters, I know 22 is long but a. I'm done writing the story and b. I will be posting a chapter every day. Don't forget to subscribe if you don't want to miss and update! Who do you think will end first, this story or the quarantine?  
> Second I placed the "Graphic depiction of violence" warning because of a single chapter in the middle of the story, but since we're all fans of AHS I'm assuming it's not going to put off too many people.  
> Beyond that, I hope you will enjoy this story, personally I had a blast writing it and I think it's the best AHS story I've written so far! Have a good reading!

_54 days after the end of the world_

  
Misty scrambled over the wall of loose-looking stones. Cruel laughter and shouts echoed behind her, out of the forest. She landed on both feet, losing her balance. She pushed herself up with her hands, pulled the strap of her bag back up her shoulder, and ran through the trees. Her boot-clad feet trampled over dry earth. She stepped over large roots, careful not to trip on them.

  
She heard heavy thumps coming from behind her. The men were still following her, running after her. Though her legs ached, she pressed forward.

  
"You can't run forever," a man shouted behind her.

  
His voice seemed so close, it prompted Misty to look behind her. The three men were running, and they would catch up to her, she knew. And when they would get their hands on her...

  
She tried to push more air into her lungs, but it seemed stuck in her throat. The aftertaste of copper climbed onto her tongue. Misty jumped over a cluster of roots and took a sharp turn, hoping to disappear amidst the trunks. Maybe she could hide in one of the thickets, she thought. Hide until they ran past her, then go back to the wall, and the road, and disappear completely.

  
She checked behind her. She could barely see them through the trees, because of their camouflage-patterned jackets, and plain brown pants. She saw the glint of a weapon under the light. Whether it was a gun or a knife, she couldn't care less.

  
Misty darted under the nearest bush, hiding under the abundant foliage. She tried to lay as flat as she could, while pulling her legs closer to her body, to occupy as little space as possible. She placed a hand on her mouth, trying to hold her panting. With her chest against the earth, she could feel her heart banging against her ribs, her lungs struggling to expend comfortably. She held her breath, listening carefully.

  
The footsteps came closer and closer, loudly, like a stampede. From her position in the dirt, she saw dirty black boots stepping around trees, slowing down. She held her breath, waiting.

  
"Goddamn it! Where did she go?"

  
"I think she ran that way."

  
"Spread out."

  
Once the order was issued, she heard light running steps, echoing away. Then, more footsteps, slower, walking inches from her face. Misty's breath caught in her throat. The will to cough became horribly strong. Still, she held it in, tears coming to her eyes from the struggle. The boots walked away, at a walking pace at first, then faster. Misty waited and waited until her lungs were screaming for air. Then, she allowed herself to breathe again.

  
She couldn't stay here, she reasoned. They would find her. She had to make her way back now, as quietly as she could. After making sure the way was clear, she pulled herself out of her hiding spot. She stood up quickly and didn't bother to brush the dirt off of her. Instead, she carefully started walking back, using trees to hide until she was sure she could move forward.

  
She realized only too late that she had completely lost the way back to the stone wall. All these twists and turns had disoriented her, and she had troubles remembering the way to the road. This forest was big, and it seemed to go on forever. All the trees were the same, tall evergreens with vibrant green needles. There was no landmark she could use, and even the sun, right above her head, was no help.

  
"Over here!"

  
Misty's heart stopped in her chest as she looked to her right. A hundred feet away, on the other side of an alley of trees, was one of the men from before, and he had spotted her. She took off in a sprint.

  
Once again, the footsteps pursuing her returned. First one, then two, then finally all three of them were on her tail. Misty was tired, even with so much adrenaline coursing through her body. They were going to catch up to her, she knew. They were going to get her.

  
A loud gunshot echoed in the entire forest, bringing everyone to a standstill. Panicked, Misty crouched on the ground, her hands over her head. She looked behind her. The gunshot had not come from them. Two of the men had skidded to a stop, visibly afraid. The third one, the one who had been closest to Misty, was laying against a tree, half of his head blow off and smeared on the bark, like red-colored lichen. The two men still alive were no longer looking at Misty but above her.

  
A young woman was standing on a wooden platform around a tree, ten feet above them. She was pointing a shotgun at the group of men. Misty assumed she was the one who had blown open the third one's brain. To her right, another girl emerged out of the canopy, a rifle aimed at the men.

  
All around them, girls began to emerge, brandishing rifles and shotguns, aimed directly at the men. Misty counted five of them, in total, encircling the men. A sixth one appeared through the bushes and came to stand beside Misty, an assault rifle in hands. Misty was surprised by her appearance. She was not dressed for combat, but she wore an expensive-looking slim dress instead, and high heels. Her long blonde hair was loose and perfectly in place. Makeup made her hazel eyes seemed harder and colder.

  
"Your moms never told you not to trespass?" the blonde asked.

  
Both men were equally shocked at the situation.

  
"Hey dickwads, I'm talking to you!"

  
One of the two men pulled out a handgun, pointing it to the girls, changing target nervously every few seconds, unsure. The other one lifted his hands, trying to calm both his friend and the situation.

  
"We're leaving, okay? Just take what you want, we're leaving."

  
"Sorry, but we don't forgive around here. But we sure will forget you."

  
There was another shot, coming from the right. A single bullet passed through the trigger-anxious man's skull. He collapsed on the ground and his gun slid out of his hands. His friend lunged for the handgun. The blonde pulled the trigger of her rifle, and a hail of bullets caught the man's torso. He was dead before he could get his hands around the handgun's grip.

  
"Loot them," the blonde told the other girls. "Put them with the others."

  
She then turned to Misty. Misty was still very uncertain about the situation. For a second, she'd thought the girls hadn't seen her, couldn't see her, as if she'd become a ghost. But then, the blonde had looked straight at her, with an unreadable expression.

  
"Any more guys after you?" she asked.

  
Misty blinked as the words passed through her brain.

  
"Er... no. Only these three."

  
"Come with me."

  
The blonde walked away. Misty scrambled to her feet and brushed herself off before following the blonde through the foliage.

* * *

"First, I need to make sure of a few things," the blonde said as she led Misty through the trees.

  
"Do you know where you are?"

  
Misty shrugged vaguely.

  
"The Sierra Nevada?"

  
The blonde didn't acknowledge her answer, and instead continued to ask questions:

  
"Where are you going?"

  
"Canada. I'm trying to make it north."

  
The blonde continued to seemingly ignore Misty and look straight ahead.

  
"Are you alone?"

  
"Yep."

  
"Where did you come from?"

  
"Louisiana."

  
This time the blonde stopped to stare at Misty with confusion.

  
"How the fuck did you end up here if you're going to Canada?"

  
"I got into a bit of trouble trying to get to Oklahoma. Then I tried going through Colorado but, same. Nevada's a big no. So I thought I'd go to the coast, get a boat."

  
The blonde looked at Misty up and down. Her tangled mess of blonde hair, her dirty long skirt and loose shirt, the torn flannel she was using as a jacket. Then, she started walking again. Misty followed.

  
"I'm taking you to the boss. She'll decide what to do with you."

  
Misty wasn't sure if it was a threat, if she should have been worried, but after the intense chase she'd just gone through, she was incapable of feeling scared anymore. Plus, the girls had saved her life, they wouldn't kill her now.

  
As they walked closer to the edge of the forest, Misty noticed a security camera attached to one of the trees. A single red dot was blinking in and out of existence. She assumed there must have been more cameras throughout the forest, and that was how the girls had found her.

  
They emerged into a plain under the midday sun, hot and busy. Misty was stunned for a second to see so many people. In the middle was a large mansion. It was a massive three-stories building with ivy climbing on the walls. A single lonely pine stood near the house. A group of girls was seating under its shadow, talking and playing games. Another group was reclined in the grass, taking in the warmth of the sun. Everywhere Misty looked, she only saw girls and young women.

  
"What is this place?" Misty asked.

  
"It's our coven," the blonde simply said, as she crossed the grass, the assault rifle over her shoulder.

  
As they approached the house, Misty felt most of the girls' eyes on her. She tried to smile and wave at a few of them. The older ones remained guarded, not glaring but not smiling either. The younger ones did smile back and would have probably run up to her if they hadn't been physically held back.

  
They reached the edge of the garden and stepped onto a wooden terrace. A few lounging chairs had been pulled there. With the sun above the house, this made it a prime spot to tan without getting pricked by the dried grass outside. One of the women lounging there sat up when the blonde and Misty arrived.

  
"Hey, Madison, you forgot your walkie-talkie," the young woman said as she pulled up her sunglasses to rest above her dark hair.

  
"Why are you out here?" Madison asked. "I asked you to monitor the damn surveillance camera."

  
The woman shrugged and reclined back in the seat.

  
"I don't work for you, girl."

  
Madison crossed her arms and glared at the woman.

  
"Seriously, Queenie? What if there are more of them out there?"

  
"Then your little army will get them like they always do."

  
Madison clicked her tongue with annoyance.

  
"Whatever. Enjoy your lounging chair. If anything happens it'll be your fault, and I'll make sure Cordelia knows it."

  
"Oh wow, I'm so scared."

  
Madison's jaw visibly clenched. She turned back to Misty.

  
"Come on."

  
She led Misty inside through the kitchen door. There, a few girls were finishing up with the dishes, drying them and placing them neatly back in the cupboard. A small group of ten-year-olds was playing Monopoly in the living room. Another group of teenagers was seating around the table, playing Risk. Madison walked through the corridors like she owned the place. The clicks of her heels on the white parquet floor echoed in the entire building.

  
Misty looked around her with surprise. The walls were very white, almost too white for this new, upside-down world she'd been traversing in the past few weeks. The furniture was clean. There were many books on the shelves, and paintings still hung on the walls. It was as if time had completely stopped just minutes before the bombs fell.

  
They emerged out of the hallway and into the main entrance, where a massive, double staircase climbed up to the floors above. However, Madison didn't go up, but to the right of the stairs instead. There, she knocked on a closed door. Misty caught up just in time to see Madison opening the door. She passed her head through, but not enough to allow Misty to see inside the room.

  
"I see you forgot your walkie-talkie again," the voice of a woman said on the other side of the door.

  
"Whatever," Madison replied. "Queenie's not even monitoring the cameras, and I would have had to return here anyway. They were running after a girl."

  
"Of course they were. Let her in."

  
Madison stepped away and looked back at Misty.

  
"Go on in, hippie."

  
Misty nodded, and with a slightly trembling hand, she pushed the door open.


	2. Welcome to the Coven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misty meets the boss around here, Cordelia.

Misty stepped into the room. Her eyes first landed on the desk in front of her, with two comfortable-looking armchairs in front of it. There was a small pile of papers on it. A small bookshelf overflowing with books rested against the wall. Behind the desk was a woman with long blond hair. She stood up and smiled at Misty, holding out her hand.

  
"I'm Cordelia."

  
"Misty."

  
Cordelia's brown eyes sparkled under the sunlight coming through the window. As she sat down, Misty got a look at the rest of the room. There was a mattress on the ground and a closet against the wall. Cordelia herself was wearing a white blouse and black pants as if she were about to leave to go work in some office space.

  
"Please, have a seat."

  
Misty eyed the armchair, suddenly afraid she would stain the piece of furniture. The fact that she hadn't taken a shower in ages hit her with strength. Still, she sat down, placing her satchel on her lap.

  
"It was lucky you jumped over our wall," Cordelia said with a gentle, comforting smile. "We don't take kindly to male intrusions."

  
"So there are only girls here?" Misty asked.

  
Cordelia nodded.

  
"It was a hard choice we had to make, but we don't allow any man to stay. I care about the safety of my girls over everything and in the past few months they've been the most... troublesome, shall we say."

  
Cordelia leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs, and Misty fidgeted in her seat, feeling Cordelia's eyes on her.

  
"So tell me, Misty, how did you come to us?"

  
"Oh, I didn't know there was... I mean, they were just runnin' after me and I just jumped over the wall."

  
Cordelia chuckled lightly.

  
"It's quite alright. You're not the first one. We try to keep our location as secret as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if no one outside of these walls knew we were here. Where are you from?"

  
"Louisiana."

  
Misty then added quickly, having the feeling that Cordelia would ask her the same questions Madison did:

  
"I was tryin' to make my way to Canada, but it's been kinda hard traveling on foot. So I thought I would make it to the cost, take a boat up north."

  
"Why Canada?"

  
Misty shrugged.

  
"Don't know. I thought I could find an empty place to settle. In the plains or something. I used to live in the swamps, thought I could stay there and no one would notice, but then with the radiation, all the fish sudden floated belly up and that's when I knew I had to leave."

  
"I'm sorry to hear that."

  
Misty finally relaxed, leaning back in her seat.

  
"So, what is this place?" she asked.

  
Cordelia smiled.

  
"This place is... was my mother's holiday residency. It's where she spent most of her winters. There's a ski resort just a few miles up the mountain, LA is just a few hours away. When things started heating up I came here to hide. Soon after the bombs dropped a small group of girls made their way over. Then another, and another. And suddenly my mother's empty mansion turned into a shelter for female survivors. We have girls from the age of six to... well, I'm the oldest one," she added with a chuckle.

  
Misty nodded along. Cordelia leaned forward once again, her arms resting on the desk.

  
"I know you have your own plans, but I think you should stay here, with us, if you want to."

  
Misty blinked, uncertain whether she'd heard Cordelia correctly.

  
"Here?"

  
"Whatever your problems were, they're ours now."

  
Misty shrugged.

  
"I didn't have a problem with these guys, they had a problem with me. But your girls took care of them, so..."

  
Misty stopped her rambling to think. Cordelia continued:

  
"In times like these, being alone is a death sentence. I know you have your own plans, but think about it. Here you'll have a roof over your head, three meals a day and security. As long as you help out around here, I'm sure everyone will be happy to welcome you."

  
Misty nodded. It sounded very interesting. Her plan was fickle at best. If she couldn't find a boat, she would have to walk up the entire west coast. And even if she did, who's to say she could pilot the damn thing?

  
"I think you're right," Misty said. "I should stay here."

  
Cordelia smiled brightly.

  
"I'm glad you agree."

  
She stood out of her chair.

  
"Come with me, let's find you an empty bed."

  
Misty stood up and replied:

  
"I don't need a bed. Just a mattress on the ground, or even a sleeping bag, I can practically sleep anywhere at this point."

  
Cordelia smiled, but there was a glim of sadness in her eyes.

  
"The girls raided one of the resorts nearby. They brought back a lot of mattresses and sheets."

  
Cordelia led Misty out of her office and up the stairs. They walked through the first corridor. Misty counted at least six doors. Cordelia politely knocked on every closed door, before looking inside. The first one was empty, but Cordelia closed the door again.

  
"This one's a bit full already," she decided.

  
She walked up to the next door. Misty asked:

  
"How many girls are here exactly?"

  
"Including myself, we are 39. You're the lucky fortieth, I suppose."

  
She knocked on the second door. This one had two older teenagers, each lying on their beds, reading a book. They both looked up when Cordelia's head passed through the door.

  
"Excuse me, girls, how many of you are there in this room?"

  
The girls exchanged a look before one of them answered:

  
"Four."

  
"Okay, thank you, girls."

  
She closed the door again and thought longly.

  
"I think..."

  
She was interrupted when a series of footsteps echoed down the stairs. A blonde woman rushed down and was about to make her way down the last flight of stairs when she saw Cordelia from the corner of her eyes. She took a turn and ran up to Cordelia, stopping just a foot short of her target and breathing with difficulty.

  
"Cordelia..."

  
"What is it, Coco?"

  
"The scavenging team... is coming back..."

  
Coco leaned against the wall to steady herself as she breathed. Cordelia decided:

  
"Go and start inventorying everything. I'll be there in a minute."

  
Coco nodded but didn't move just yet. Cordelia used the time to introduce Misty.

  
"Coco, this is Misty. She's new here."

  
Coco offered a smile and a wave to Misty but was still too winded to talk.

  
"Hey, isn't there an empty bed in your room?"

  
Coco nodded.

  
"Yeah, sure, we could use another roommate."

  
"Alright. I'll show Misty to the room and I'll be right there."

  
Coco nodded and started running again, down the stairs this time. Cordelia led Misty up the stairs. There were four more doors there, and Cordelia opened the first one on the right without knocking.

  
"You'll be sharing your room with Coco and Mallory," Cordelia said as she stepped into the room.

  
Misty walked in to find a small room with three beds in. One was a queen-sized bed, and it seemed the wooden structure of the canopy above it had been snapped off. It had been pushed against a corner of the room, to make way for two single mattresses on the ground. Both the bed and the mattress near it seemed occupied, with the sheets half-haphazardly thrown on them, and a few personal belongings resting by them. Cordelia indicated the mattress by the door.

  
"This is yours for as long as you want."

  
"Thank you."

  
"Usually I would explain how things around here work but I need to see the scavenging team right now. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask the other girls."

  
Misty nodded. Cordelia started moving toward the door when Misty called her back:

  
"Cordelia? Thank you for letting me stay. Really."

  
Half an hour ago she wouldn't have even dreamed of being in a house, surrounded by people, and seemingly being welcomed among them so openly. Cordelia smiled and replied:

  
"We have to stick together now. I'll ask around, see if anyone could use your help."

  
She started walking away, then came back to ask:

  
"Do you know how to use a gun?"

  
Misty frowned but shook her head.

  
"Not really. Killing's not my thing."

  
"No problem."

  
She walked down the hallway, leaving Misty in the room alone. Misty let out a long sigh and sat down on the mattress. The springs bounced under her. It was comfortable, and certainly preferable to her last sleeping arrangement, a piece of cardboard in an underground parking lot.

  
Misty let her bag on the mattress and stood up to look around the room. The room had a window, in between the other mattress and the bed. She assumed from so high up she would have a nice view of whatever there was to see. Maybe the road. Carefully, Misty stepped between a pile of clothes and a small stack of books and made her way to the window.

  
The view was incredible. She saw rows upon rows of tall evergreens down into the valley, and over every mountain, all the way to the horizon. At the foot of the house lay what she first assumed what a road, a single piece of concrete among the vegetation. Then, she realized the road didn't continue past the house. It was a private road, and if she followed it, she lost track of it through the trees. It probably led to some sort of fancy entrance gate, she assumed. This house was isolated, mostly hidden in the trees, and indeed, the perfect spot to hideout after the end of the world.

  
Misty heard voices under her window. A small group of girls was waiting, including Coco, Cordelia, and Madison. In the distance, she also heard metallic jingling. Out of the trees, two shopping carts pushed by two girls made their way up the small incline. Four other girls surrounded the carts, three of which were armed with a gun. The last one was walking along, a massive backpack resting on her shoulders.

  
Almost as soon as the girls broke through the trees, Coco and two other girls rushed to help them, taking the bag from the girl's shoulders and dragging the carts along, taking over the tired scavenging team. While the girls reunited and reported to Cordelia, Misty stepped away from the window.

  
The carts looked somewhat full, but Misty had no idea what they contained. Nevertheless, feeding forty people took a lot of food. Misty returned to her new bed and opened her bag. Besides a few precious items, such as a walkman, a few cassettes, and her favorite shawl, most of its content was utilitarian. A few changes of clothing, all dirty, a pocket knife she'd stolen in an abandoned gas station but never used, a banged-up metal water bottle, almost empty. A small pouch contained her favorite pieces of jewelry, most of them cheap and not worth dying over. The second, larger pouch, was her most precious cargo. She checked it again. Seeds in small plastic containers. In paper bags. In zip-logs. All clearly labeled by names and information relatives to their optimal growth.

  
Misty looked at the content of the pouch and bit her lower lip. She should tell Cordelia that she had these seeds. They could plant them, it could help everyone. Scavenging was limited, even she knew that. Once you've looted a store clean, it's not coming back, not anymore. But growing vegetables could save everyone in the long run.

  
Misty hid the pouch back in her bag and stood up, determined to tell Cordelia. The door to the bedroom suddenly opened. A young woman with hazel hair froze in the doorway. She looked dirtier than everyone else in the house, except Misty, and she was massaging her shoulder with one hand.

  
"Oh, hey, you must be the new girl," the girl said. "Misty, right?"

  
"That's me."

  
"I'm Mallory. I sleep on the other mattress."

  
They shook hands with a smile. Mallory walked in and winced.

  
"Sorry, the room's a mess. I was out scavenging all day and Coco doesn't care about tidying her side much."

  
"It's okay," Misty assured.

  
"Cordelia said I should tell you how things work around here, but it's my turn to take a bath and I don't want to miss it."

  
Again, Misty didn't mind.

  
"It's alright. I was just gonna go see Cordelia anyway."

  
"Thanks."

  
Misty moved to the door without turning her back to Mallory, who was picking clothing off of the floor. The brunette suddenly stood up and said:

  
"Oh, you know what? I bet you could use a bath too. God knows it's hard to keep clean these days. Do you want me to find you a spot on the schedule?"

  
Misty frowned.

  
"The schedule?"

  
"Yeah, we have a schedule, to decide who gets to shower when. Usually, it's a bit difficult to have a spot on the day but I'm sure they'll make an exception for the newbie."

  
"That would be nice, thanks."

  
"No problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this chapter is up a bit later than usual but I had a test from 10 to 12, courtesy of the Phonetics department who just would not let it go and were absolutely determined to give everyone a grade this semester...  
> Anyway, thank you all for the love you've showered over the first chapter, it's almost at 50 views already which is a very good start in my opinion. The begining of the story is going to be a bit slow, since it's mostly introductions and set ups and such, but I hope you'll enjoy every bit of it.  
> Yesterday I finally got around to watching Happy Death Day and its sequel (I received the DVDs last week while I was working on this story so I hadn't had time to watch them yet) but it gave me an idea for a Zadison story. I wanted to start working on it this morning but my shoulders still hurt from doing too much writing last week, so I'll give myself a few more days of rest, make sure the backache is completely gone before I give myself another one...  
> As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you tomorrow for the next one!


	3. Barren Lands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misty goes in search of Cordelia and finds a wonderful place instead.

Misty left the bedroom soon after and walked down the stairs. There was a wild commotion downstairs. A small group of girls was running back and forth between the dining room and the front door. They were unpacking the shopping carts and bringing their contents on the table so Coco could make an inventory of the scavenging. The other girls had taken care to stay out of their way. As soon as she stepped down, Misty asked:

  
"Do you guys need any help?"

  
The younger of the two girls shook her head, bags of pasta piled up in her arms. The other one barely spared Misty a glance as she hurried back outside. Misty skirted out of their way to knock on Cordelia's office door. She heard no answer and hesitated. Should she knock again, or open the door anyway? She tried to remember if Madison had knocked at all when she'd led her there.

  
"Can I help you?"

  
Misty turned around, only to find an older teenager standing behind her. She had long brown hair, and dirty clothes smeared with grime and blood. A knife was attached to her belt, and Misty imagined that wasn't the only weapon the girl usually carried.

  
"I'm looking for Cordelia."

  
"You're the new girl. I'm Zoe."

  
"Misty."

  
They shook hands. Zoe's was smudge with some sort of black dust, charcoal Misty imagined. Misty then recognized her as one of the girls who'd just returned from the scavenging run.

  
"I saw Cordelia go outside," Zoe replied.

  
"Thanks."

  
Misty began to walk away but she heard Zoe say behind her:

  
"Maddie said you came from Louisiana?"

  
Misty turned back around, mindful of the girls still working.

  
"I did."

  
"How the fuck did you make it all the way here?" Zoe asked with suspicion.

  
"I walked."

  
"With no weapons at all?"

  
Misty shrugged.

  
"I have a pocket knife. But I guess I'm just pretty good at avoiding people."

  
"Until now."

  
"Can't avoid them forever."

  
Misty waited to see if Zoe had other questions, but the conversation seemed to have ended there. She walked away, taking the corridor through which Madison had led her earlier, and out the door.

* * *

Some of the girls who'd returned from the scavenging run had joined the others in the garden. The group of girls who'd been playing Monopoly had deserted the living room to go play outside. Misty surveyed the garden, but she couldn't see Cordelia anywhere.

  
She decided to look around anyway, while she was there. Maybe the community already had a vegetable patch, or a small garden, some place where they grew food for themselves. There was so much space that it was easy to imagine. She began her tour of the garden by rounding the house to see the front.

  
On the right side of the house, she found a small shed containing a small generator. However, it wasn't turned on. Maybe they were sparing it for a rainy day, she thought. She had an inkling that somehow the house still had both electricity and running water, the most precious of all resources, but that, much like anything, it wouldn't last.

  
She walked on dry grass, making her way to the front of the house. The concrete road she'd seen from the window led to a garage entrance. However, the entrance was closed. A single car rested under a tree, one of its tires flattened to the point that the rubber seemed to have melted. Someone must have come in it, maybe even Cordelia herself, but no one was leaving with it anytime soon.

  
Misty was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of the two shopping carts being pushed toward the garage. The door to the garage opened on its own, with a smooth buzzing sound. The two girls from before were done emptying the carts and were hiding them in the garage, beside another, cleaner car. Misty didn't stare for too long, as she turned around and decided to explore the rest of the garden.

  
She found a stone path leading back through the trees on the right side of the house. She decided to follow it. What sort of rich people extravaganza she was about to discover, she didn't know. A pool, she imagined. Or a tennis court. Another terrace, hidden away. A gazebo, maybe.

  
A glass building appeared amongst the trees. Wherever the sun hit it, it sent a refracted rainbow on the trunks of the nearest pines. It was a fantastical little corner of paradise, and to her surprise, none of the girls seemed to be playing inside. The forest was completely calm, devoid of any chitchat and laughter which made the house buzz.

  
Misty opened the door to the building. Inside, she found all sorts of plants. Big pots with small, yellow-leaved plants, struggling to develop as they should. Hanging ferns from the ceiling, their leaves dry and curling back. Dahlias and peonies losing their colors, petals making small carpets on the tile floor of the greenhouse. Even the cacti and succulents had begun to shrivel up, turning a darker, scarier shade of green.

  
Among this soon to be vegetal cemetery was Cordelia. She placed the garden sheers back on the table in front of her with a sigh. Misty saw she was trying to trim an olive tree, small but already tired, its leaves slightly brownish.

  
Misty cleared her throat, and Cordelia stood up, startled.

  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

  
"It's alright. I was just trying to save my greenhouse, again."

  
Cordelia sighed.

  
"I know it's a waste of time but I just don't want to give up yet."

  
Misty looked around, at all the plants struggling for their lives.

  
"Don't say that. I'm sure it's just temporary."

  
Cordelia shook her head.

  
"They've been damaged by the radiation, I just know it. There's no coming back from that. The dirt is contaminated, the water is contaminated, and every attempt I make to help them just..."

  
She sighed longly.

  
"I'm sure we can find some sort of utility for here. Maybe another storage closet."

  
Misty walked closer to one of the succulents, passing her hand delicately on one of the leaves. It was still soft, if a bit yellow. The leaf snapped off the stem with a light pop. Misty looked around.

  
"It's okay," Cordelia assured.

  
But Misty wasn't looking for forgiveness. She was looking for an empty flower pot. When she finally found one, she planted the little leaf. Then, she looked up at Cordelia.

  
"Just give it another chance."

  
Cordelia smiled sadly.

  
"I've given it too many chances already. I wasted all the seeds I could get my hands on to try and start a vegetable patch. Nothing grew. Everything is dying if it's not already dead. We can struggle all we want, but we've reached the point of no return."

  
Misty bit her lower lip. Now would be a good moment to tell Cordelia about the seeds she'd carried with her. Instead, she remained quiet. Cordelia was the one who continued the conversation:

  
"So, you like gardening?"

  
"It's kinda my thing," Misty replied. "I had this beautiful garden I made back home. People told me you can't grow shit in the swamp but that's not true. I did it. I grew tomatoes and lettuces, strawberries too. And flowers, so many flowers..."

  
Thinking about her garden made Misty's chest ache.

  
"Is that what you did for a living?"

  
"Kinda. I worked at Carrots and Camellias. I got the best discounts. Sometimes my boss let me take the flowers that were withering a bit home since no one would buy them."

  
Cordelia smiled at the enthusiasm in Misty's voice.

  
"What about you?" Misty asked. "What did you do?"

  
"I was a college professor," Cordelia replied. "Specialized in women's history."

  
"That sounds interesting."

  
"There's still a few of the books I used to write my thesis around here if you want to read them. You might have to pry them out of one of the other girls' hands though."

  
Misty chuckled.

  
"I'm not that big on books. But if you need any help with your plants, I'll be there."

  
Cordelia sighed.

  
"Thank you, Misty, but I think this is the end of the greenhouse. I can't believe my mother was right..."

  
Misty wanted to ask. It wasn't the first time Cordelia had mentioned her mother since their conversation earlier, but the fact that she'd hinted at her mother's death made Misty uneasy, and she was too doubtful of the situation to dare prompt Cordelia for more information.

  
"Anyway, did the girls tell you how our little community works?"

  
"Mallory said she would, but she wanted to head to the shower, so..."

  
Cordelia chuckled and started walking out of the greenhouse. Misty followed her, giving one last glance to all the dying plants on her way out.

  
"As you may have guessed I'm the boss around here," Cordelia said jokingly. "I deal with day to day organization, schedules, that sort of things. If there's an emergency I deal with it. Under me are five of the girls, each in charge of a group of girls and responsible for one thing in particular. Coco is in charge of our storage. Mallory is in charge of scavenging. Madison, who brought you here, takes care of security. The two others are Queenie, who takes care of organizing the meals and the kitchen duties, and Zoe, who takes care of security with Madison, and escorts the scavenging team."

  
Misty nodded. She had met all five of Cordelia's lieutenants, then, since she'd met Queenie on the lounging chair and Zoe had interrogated her on her way out.

  
"Most of the girls have kitchen duty, I think that's what you'll be assigned too since you don't know how to use a gun. Other than that, we all take care of each other, help the youngest, protect each other. We have schedules for most things, but thankfully there are two bathrooms. If you want to wash your clothes there's also a schedule for that."

  
"You still have washing machines?" Misty asked with surprise.

  
"No, unfortunately. But we can't all use the soap and brush at the same time. Most girls have a deal with each other, usually, all the girls in the same room take turns washing everyone's clothes. I'm sure you can talk it over with Coco and Mallory."

  
Cordelia and Misty emerged out of the path and into the plain of dry grass they called a garden.

  
"I'm impressed you all managed to organize so well. Everywhere I've seen has been absolute chaos."

  
"You've found other groups?"

  
"I saw them from afar, most of the time. I preferred to keep to myself. They lived in small encampments with barricades as walls and one can of food for two, sometimes no food at all. This is paradise."

  
"It's not going to stay paradise for much longer, unfortunately, but I'll go down fighting before anyone tries to drag it down to hell."

  
Misty looked at Cordelia, the cool steeliness of her eyes as determination set in her entire being. Misty believed she meant every word she said.

  
"I should probably thank the guys who ran after me until I found this place, but god knows what Madison's girls did with them."

  
"They buried them somewhere around here," Cordelia replied. "We may not be very charitable with trespassers, but we don't make examples of them. As I said before we don't want people to notice us."

  
Misty nodded, the memory of bodies strung up like Christmas lights over walls and barricades somewhat still fresh in her mind.

  
Cordelia had made her way back to the house, and Misty, who'd been mindlessly following, only realized once they were standing by the doorway. Queenie was still in the lounging chair.

  
"Queenie?"

  
She sat up but didn't pull her sunglasses up this time.

  
"This is Misty, she's new here. I'll be adding her to your team."

  
"Sure, I could always use another adult who knows how to use a stove."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> My back still hurts a bit so I'm going to wait until tomorrow to start writing again. Or maybe I'll just pick up a notebook and write a good old fashion High School AU in the meantime.  
> Anyway, I'll see you guys tomorrow for the next chapter!


	4. Origin Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of Misty's first day in paradise

Dinner was a grand matter in the community. While the schedule of who helped to prepare each meal every week was given the week before and left for everyone to see on the fridge, there were always a few girls who managed to be late, to sneak out of it, or even switch with another one. What Misty had taken as perfect order was, at best, organized chaos. The younger girls who had little to no notion of time had to be found and led to the kitchen, which led to a big search for a single person, all throughout the house and the garden.

  
Even harder was for Queenie to find everyone a task which they were capable of doing. Thirteen-year-old Ana could be trusted with a knife, not six-year-old Marnie. In fact, Marnie's entire contribution, Misty found, was to cheer on everyone else. The little girl was very good at it too. And when the meal only consisted of pasta, which generally didn't take a team of six girls to make, Queenie somehow still found something for them to do. Set the table, go fetch water from the well – which Misty discovered was on the left side of the house, after following Wendy and Dinah who'd been charged with water carrying duty.

  
More chaotic was the dinner itself. The dining table only allowed for a maximum of twelve people to be seated, which forced food to be served in four sittings. The slower girls had to be kicked out of the table, and finish their dinner in the kitchen or the living room. And they had to finish their plates or find someone to finish it for them because wasting food was considered with as much gravity as stealing it. Fortunately, this wasn't a problem for Misty, whose last dinner had been a snicker bar two days prior. Misty was invited to sit in the last serving with Cordelia and the rest to the council, along with a few of the older women. Plain pasta had never taste as good as it had that evening.

  
After dinner, Misty was escorted to the second-floor bathroom by Mallory. The room was moderately clean, for one where twenty people showered on a regular basis. There was a bathtub, a sink, and a toilet. A short plastic tube was attached to the tap and rested in the sink like a dead snake.

  
"We hooked the water tank from the nearby ski resort to us, so the toilet still works for now. But for the shower, you're gonna have to go old school."

  
Mallory pointed to the portable stove beside the tub, and the large pressure cooker already full of water on top of it.

  
"It's one cooker per person per week. Just use the tap to refill it for the next person. Enjoy."

  
Mallory left the room, and Misty locked behind her. She eyed the cooker suspiciously. She dared a finger in. The water was cold. She was almost tempted to pour it over her head, cold or not. But she decided to have patience. She turned on the stove, and sat on the edge of the tub, made sure it was sealed so the water wouldn't run off, and began undressing.

  
There were holes in her shoes. Her socks were bloodied because her feet were bleeding. She'd walked so much, she had blistered on her heels, under the ball of her feet, and even on the side of her toes. Not only did she not usually wear shoes, but she'd been walking every day for the past fifty days, with the same pair of shoes. She had already decided that she would be spending the next month without shoes, at least.

  
She took off all her rings and necklaces and placed them carefully on the side of the sink. She took off her shirt, then her skirt. The mirror over the sink reflected the image of a pale ghost. She was thinner than she remembered. She was certain that her cheekbone didn't used to protrude so sharply out of her cheek or that her ribs didn't press so forcibly against her skin. She was tired and dirty.

  
She checked the temperature of the water, and once she decided it was warm enough, she poured the entire cooker in the tub. The water splashed inside, and Misty felt with an ache in her chest the loss of the few droplets which tumbled out. Taking off her underwear, she sank into the tub with a moan. There were barely a few inches of water, but it was warm, and that warmth seemed to penetrate through her skin and relax every muscle of her body.

  
Misty grabbed the bar of soap beside her and began cleaning herself as thoroughly as she could. The hardest was cleaning her hair, as she could barely wet it all by leaning back into the tub. Maybe this bath was a terrible idea. She knew she should have dunked the whole thing over her head.

  
Once she was cleaned and shivering, she stepped out of the tub. She wrapped herself in a clean towel and watched every last drop of grayish water disappear down the drain. She felt strange putting on her dirty clothes once again, but she had no other choice for the moment. She would have to clean her things as soon as she could.

  
She wrapped her wet hair into the towel, and refilled the cooker before leaving, one hand holding the towel in place and the other carrying all of her jewelry. She returned to her bedroom, where she found Coco and Mallory, each on their respective bed. Coco was talking, and from the tail end she managed to catch, Misty understood she was gossiping. Mallory was laying on her bed, a book in hands, and barely paying attention to what Coco was saying. It was a sort of routine, Misty figured out, though whether they were ignoring each other or actually deep in conversation she wasn't quite sure.

  
"How was the bath?" Coco asked as Misty sat down on her mattress, and began placing all of her jewelry back in their little pouch.

  
"Great," Misty replied.

  
"Are you gonna sleep in that?" Coco then said, her voice betraying how uncomfortable she felt for Misty.

  
Misty shrugged.

  
"I don't have anything better."

  
Coco thought longly.

  
"Hold on... I'll see if I can find something else in storage. Usually, we shop for the young ones, but who knows? Maybe there are some tall sweatpants laying about."

  
Coco exited the bedroom and Misty dried her hair as much as she could with the towel. When she didn't seem to know what to do with it, Mallory said:

  
"Just throw it on the pile over there. It's my turn to do laundry tomorrow. Put your stuff too if you want."

  
"Oh, no, I can take care of it."

  
Mallory shook her head.

  
"It's gonna take you a week to get a slot. Just let me do it this time, and you can do it next time. Lord knows Coco will appreciate skipping her turn."

  
Reluctantly, Misty pulled her dirty clothes out of her bag and unto the pile. She decided to comply with how things worked around here since they all seemed to have it mostly figured out.

  
"So, how long have you been here?" Misty asked.

  
Mallory put her bookmark in her book and closed it off. She sat up and leaned against the wall behind her, using her pillow to cushion her back.

  
"Don't know, maybe two months? Coco and I arrived together with a small group of people from the ski resort. I was on a research trip, and Coco had taken a trip with her boyfriend."

  
Misty nodded.

  
"You were a researcher?"

  
"College student. I studied biology."

  
Misty nodded.

  
"You?"

  
"Oh, I worked at a Carrots and Camellias."

  
Mallory smiled.

  
"So you must be pretty good with plants. Has Cordelia shown you her greenhouse yet?"

  
"I found it on my own, actually. But she thinks everything is dying and can't be saved."

  
Mallory sighed.

  
"Yeah, I've noticed that too. In town. Here it seems mostly fine cause the trees are still growing, but down in the valley... There's nothing left alive. More dead birds than I've ever seen. We saw a fox once, I thought animals had reclaimed the mountains, but by the time we made the trip back it was dead."

  
Coco walked back in suddenly, and as if she could sense the energy of the room, she instantly asked:

  
"What fucked-up story were you telling her?"

  
Mallory shook her head.

  
"Doesn't matter."

  
Coco turned to Misty.

  
"Don't listen to her, she's not over the goth phase yet."

  
"I never had a goth phase," Mallory replied.

  
"Here you go. The shirt was in storage, the pants are from Cordelia, she said to keep them."

  
Misty took the pile of neatly folded clothes gratefully.

  
"Thanks."

  
Coco motioned for Mallory to stand up.

  
"Come on, let's give her some privacy."

  
Before Misty could tell them that it was fine, they could all just turn around, both Coco and Mallory were out of the room. She decided to change quickly, unsure of how patient they would be. She threw her dirty laundry on the pile and put on the borrowed clothes. The shirt was a large, gift-shop tee-shirt, definitely not Misty's style. In big red ink, the words 'I left my heart in the Sierra Madre' occupied most of the front. It fell to her mid-thighs, and the sleeves almost reached her elbows. On the contrary, the pants were a bit too short, brushing above her ankles. She decided that it didn't matter.

  
"I'm decent," she said, at a volume she hoped was loud enough to be heard by her roommates.

  
Coco and Mallory walked in a few seconds later. Coco looked at Misty with satisfaction.

  
"See, isn't that more comfortable?"

  
They both returned to their bed, and Misty sat back down on her mattress.

  
Mallory returned to her book, and Coco returned to her gossiping, though this time her attention was geared toward Misty.

  
"So, Mallory told me you used to work at a gardening shop?"

  
Misty nodded.

  
"Not a very valuable skill these days."

  
"Oh, please, it's still better than me. I have absolutely no skill. I don't even know why I'm in charge of anything."

  
"Because you're good at it," Mallory interjected.

  
Coco rolled her eyes.

  
"Everyone can do that, you know? Count how many boxes of Mac n cheese you guys have brought back. Even Brock could have done that."

  
Misty frowned. At her frowned, Coco explained:

  
"Brock's my ex. God, I'm happy he's gone. Hope he died of radiation exposure in the waste or something. I don't care."

  
Still, Misty continued to frown.

  
"What do you mean, 'gone'?"

  
Coco and Mallory exchanged a look.

  
"Don't," Coco warned.

  
"Why not?" Mallory replied.

  
"Cause it's gonna send her running. This is not a story you tell to someone on their first night."

  
"I won't go runnin'," Misty replied, her curiosity peaked by the girls' argument. "However bad you think this story is, I've probably seen worse out there."

  
Coco gave another uncertain look to Mallory, who put her book down and leaned forward.

  
"In the beginning, we used to welcome everyone," Mallory explained. "Men and women, whoever wanted could come here. We must have been about thirty by then. There was this group of guys from the resort, spring-breaking."

  
Mallory paused as if looking for her words. Coco remained silent, refusing to give her help.

  
"One night they rapped Madison. In the woods. Zoe saw them coming back. She found Madison afterward. They didn't tell Cordelia. Instead, they killed all of the guys. In the morning they explained the situation to her. Cordelia made a choice that day. She decided to kick all the men out. A few were family men, so the entire family left. Some left their daughters behind. Brock..."

  
Coco interrupted Mallory then:

  
"He wanted me to leave but I decided to stay. When he got angry, Zoe pulled a knife to his throat before he could physically force me out. She's tougher than she looks, this one."

  
Once Coco's voice died down, Mallory continued:

  
"So from this day on, we refused any man who's come here. If they're hostile we kill them. If not, we just let them go. But it's been at least a month since we've seen anyone. Besides you, of course."

  
Misty nodded, letting the story sink in. But like she'd told the girls before, she'd seen and heard far worst outside these walls.

  
"Alright, great welcome story," Coco said, breaking the silence. "But please, don't tell Cordelia that we told you, it's not something we're supposed to advertise."

  
"Yeah, of course."

  
Misty leaned back against the wall. Then, she asked:

  
"Madison called this place a coven, earlier. Why?"

  
Both Coco and Mallory chuckled, then Coco explained:

  
"Oh, that's because of some guy a while back. He and his friends tried to sneak into our place and steal our food. We caught them and he started calling us witches and stuff. So it's kind of an inside joke. We're the coven of witches who survived the apocalypse."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> Yesterday I started writing a Zadison High School AU but it kind of sucked, so I watched Booksmart instead (Billie Lourd's character is amazing) and it gave me another idea. So now I'm doing what I hate doing and working on two different Zadison stories at the same time, this one and the Happy Death Day inspired one.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you tomorrow for the next one!


	5. The Start of Something New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misty gets used to life in the coven and starts to make plans for the future.

Slowly but surely Misty got used to living in this large community. Going from being alone to constantly having thirty-nine other people around her took a bit used to, but whenever she felt a bit overwhelmed, a trip to the greenhouse helped soothe her anxiety. After about a week of living in the mansion, Misty stopped waking up the middle of the night with a sudden urge to make sure no one had sneaked up on her to kill her. All of those survival instincts she'd developed from months traveling slowly blunted, until she was only left with traces of them, like an old butter knife.

  
Working in the kitchen left her with plenty of time to do whatever she wanted. Whether she was cooking or cleaning the dishes, it never took more than an hour of her day, and very soon Misty found herself more bored than she'd been in a very long time. So, she asks around if anyone else needed help. Mallory's small scavenging team was planning their next trip into town, and they decidedly didn't need her help with it. Coco insisted three people were definitely enough to take inventory and even seemed annoyed that Misty would dare to ask, so she didn't push the subject. She was useless to both Madison and Zoe. Most of the time Madison barely spared her a glance. Zoe had softened since they'd first met, to the point that Misty had a hard time believing she was the same person Mallory had talked about in her story. It was Zoe who suggested if she wanted to help, she could take care of the younger girl.

  
The ones everyone called the younger girls were a group of eleven girls, between the age of six and eleven, who all slept in the massive basement together. For that reason, the basement was a danger zone, with clothes, plushes, and games spread out evenly on the ground, turning the access to the laundry room into a real obstacle course. Once a week, Cordelia made the trip down, scolded the entire group and made them clean up, and for an hour, maybe two, the basement was actually clean.

  
Misty found herself growing attached to the younger girls very quickly. They took an interest in her as well, as she was new and intriguing. She came to understand that the group itself had its own internal dynamic, some of the girls being closer than others. And while everyone had warned her about Marnie, it was only after the six-year-old had followed her around all day that she understood what they meant. Marnie was a baby duck who liked to follow the older girls around. Most of the teenagers had stopped trying to shot down her attempts, and simply let stay and mind what they were saying around her. Strangely enough, Zoe was one of the few who actively invited Marnie to join her in whatever she did, which usually made Madison roll her eyes. Madison and Zoe were both inseparable and constantly arguing over the pettiest details. They shared a mattress in the library, for some reason Misty didn't dare ask.

  
And so, a week into her stay in the coven, Misty discovered that this little community was much more complicated than she initially imagined. And while it was fascinating to discover who hung out with who, who did what with who, those who cared for the younger girls and those who didn't, those who liked to read peacefully and those who liked to talk, Misty was certain of one thing. She wanted this group to live, and thrive, and she would try anything to make sure that they did.

* * *

Misty had been part of the breakfast cleaning team that morning. She washed all the plates and mugs while twelve-year-old Tina dried them. Tina's small hands hurriedly rubbed the wet cloth over each plate before placing them back in the cupboard.

  
"What's planned for today?" Misty asked, sensing the girl's anxious energy as if she wanted to be done with the task as quickly as she could.

  
"Today's BB gun shooting," Tina replied. "Madison said she might let me shoot this time."

  
"Like a training ground?"

  
"Yeah, but they don't want to waste bullets. So Mallory found a few BB guns and they let us shoot at stuff."

  
The girl's voice was vibrating with excitement.

  
"Well, don't worry," Misty replied, "Madison is not even up yet, I doubt they'll start it without her."

  
Still, Tina continued to tremble, rubbing each plate almost forcefully, to the point that Misty feared she would break one. As soon as she was done, Tina threw the rag on the counter and ran out. Misty didn't say anything, simply picked up the cloth and hung it over the rack to let it dry.

  
Coco and her two assistants had taken over the dining room to plan the following week's meals and make a list of the first necessities the scavenging team needed to bring back in priority. Misty could hear them talking from the kitchen.

  
"I thought I asked you to count the toilet paper rolls, Hazel. Have you done what I asked?"

  
"I..."

  
"Then what are you waiting for?"

  
A chair scraped against the floor, and Hazel rushed up the stairs. Misty thought she could almost hear Coco's other assistant shaking.

  
"And you, did you count the bars of soaps?"

  
"We still have eleven bars left," the girl said with a quiver in her voice.

  
"Great, awesome, no need for soap for now."

  
There was an audible sigh, like a balloon deflating, and Misty held in a chuckle as she left the kitchen. She'd decided that today would be the day she would plant her seeds, with or without Cordelia's blessing. In fact, she'd decided not to tell her. If it failed, she wouldn't have given her false hope, but if it worked, she would tell her, and maybe alleviate a bit of her stress.

  
Misty made her way upstairs, standing clear of Hazel as she rushed back down the stairs. She entered her bedroom thinking she would be alone, only to find Mallory laying down on her bed, a book in her hands. This was a pretty regular sight, Misty had come to realize. She decided to pay her no mind and began rummaging through her bag, looking for her pouch of seeds. In the process, she pulled out her walkman. She decided to take it with her, and listen to her music while she worked in the greenhouse. It would make her feel at home.

  
"You've got music?" Mallory asked, looking over her book at the small pile of cassette tapes. "Can I?"

  
"Sure..."

  
Mallory placed her book down and moved closer, looking at the label of each cassette.

  
"Fleetwood Mac?"

  
"You know them?"

  
Mallory shrugged.

  
"A few songs, maybe."

  
Misty tried not to look too shocked, but then Mallory asked, reading the label of another tape:

  
"Who's Stevie Nicks?"

  
Misty gasped.

  
"Seriously? You don't know who Stevie is?"

  
Mallory shook her head.

  
"Sorry for being younger than you," she said jokingly.

  
"You need to listen to her."

  
Misty thought for a moment then decided:

  
"I have a thing to do, but as soon as I'm back, I will make you listen to Stevie."

  
She didn't wait for Mallory's answer, and simply left the room, still somewhat shocked.

* * *

The greenhouse was empty, like the many times she'd been there before. Cordelia seemed to have deserted the place once and for all, abandoning all hopes to ever save her plants. However, had she taken the time to return, she would have noticed that the little piece of succulent Misty had planted had already sprouted roots, and was beginning to grow greener, and bigger.

  
Misty placed her pouch on the table, strapped the walkman to her belt, put the headphones on her head, and pressed play. As the music came to her, she opened the pouch and began sorting apart all the grains, the ones that could grow quickly, or needed to be planted in late spring. She placed the ones she didn't need back in the pouch, then got to work.

  
She pulled out a bunch of flower pots discarded on the ground and began filling them with earth from a large bag in a corner. She planted the tomatoes first, sparingly placing a single seed in each pot. Her heart was pounding in her chest for each seed that fell out of her hand. She covered them up carefully, watered them, then placed each pot in a corner of the greenhouse, all together under a single sunbeam, which pierced through the canopy and fell straight down onto the pots.

  
Misty found two long plastic flower pots. She filled them with earth, and put strawberry seeds every few inches, spacing them out accordingly to what she'd done in her garden. She placed the pots under another sunbeam. She still had a few to spare and decided to keep them for now. She then started to look for more pots, bringing them over to the table.

  
All morning she filled pots with dirt, planted seeds and pits, watered them, and found them the perfect spot to grow. Apple seeds, peach pits, beans, watermelon seeds. She ran out of pots before she could run out of seeds. She even considered taking some of the pots containing a dying plant to use, but at the last minute, she took pity on the poor things and watered them instead.

  
When she left the greenhouse, Misty really hoped Cordelia would not be taking another trip there anytime soon, because there was no way she wouldn't notice the sudden addition of two dozen pots filled with dirt. Misty herself had dirt on her skirt, which she'd used as a rag by force of habit, and her hands were in desperate need of being washed. Still, when Cordelia saw her at lunch, she didn't seem to notice, and Misty was relieved.

* * *

It became a routine, as the days went on. Every day Misty would spend at least half a day in the greenhouse, watering the plants that needed hydration, making sure they received enough sun, talking to them too, encouraging them to grow. She also began to talk to the other plants, Cordelia's plants, who were still struggling between life and death. A few Misty knew were dead with no chance of resurrection, and she emptied their pots solemnly and used them to replant the others, hoping that a different, often larger pot would help them.

  
One day there was rain. Heavy, sky-obscuring rain, turning the garden to mud. Everyone knew the rule, as long as it rained they were all forbidden to step outside. Misty spent the day watching water pouring onto the ground, and hoped the humidity, even without direct exposure to the rain would be good for her plants. She hoped they could manage for a day without her. Plus, forty people being locked into a house, massive as it was, was very hard on everyone. Every time a girl suggested a game, it would inevitably end up in a fight, sometimes even before the game had even begun. Misty ended up retreating to her bedroom to listen to her music in peace, with Mallory and her book for only company.

  
The next day Misty left the house even before breakfast and rushed to the greenhouse. All the trees were still wet with raindrops, which clung to their needles, keeping as still as possible. The morning sunlight caught every drop and made it shine like tiny crystals, turning the trees into giant sparkling beacons. Water also hung to the greenhouse, distorting the light inside. Misty almost felt as if she were in an aquarium as she stepped inside.

  
"Good morning, everyone," she said as she stepped in. "I hope you all enjoyed the rain yesterday."

  
She began looking at every pot, making sure the earth was still moist, pushing them or turning them a bit so the light would be more directly above them. Suddenly, she paused. She thought it was a trick of the light, filtering through the evergreens. She moved closer. It wasn't. Tiny green growths pocked out of the earth. Their gentle color contrasted with the dark dirt. Misty's breath caught in her throat.

  
"Oh my god, you did it! Good job!"

  
She felt a tear of joy running down her cheek and brushed it off quickly. She needed to tell Cordelia. Misty turned around when her eyes found the other pots, still devoid of any plants. Later. In a few weeks. Once everyone would be out.

  
"Alright, who's thirsty?" she asked, picking up the watering can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I had forgotten I'd named this chapter after a High School Musical song until it was time to post it... Oh well!  
> First, a disclaimer that I know next to nothing about gardening and growing plants, all I did was use Google (did you know it takes between seven to ten years to grow an apple tree that will give you apples?) and probably put my ancestors to shame with my complete disregard of some of the things I learned for the sake of a good story.  
> Yesterday I wrote a Zadison High School one shot, I have no idea when I'm going to post it though. Probably when I find a good title for it (here we go again...) I want to write a foxxay High School AU too but I can't picture them as being anything but the teachers. Half of my brain is telling me to write a story about Misty joining the Academy when Cordelia was a student while the other keeps reminding me that it wouldn't work because of their age difference. So really if you have an idea, let me know...  
> Anyway, as usual, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you tomorrow for the next one!


	6. Miracle Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things take a dire turn for the coven but thankfully Misty planed ahead.

_75 days after the end of the world_

  
Misty watched nervously as Mallory and her scavenging team pushed the two shopping carts down the concrete path, empty backpacks on their shoulders and Zoe's security team beside them. The sun was rising over the horizon, and most of the house was still asleep. The team would be back before the end of the day, but quite a few people had come to see them off, the unsaid fear humming between them. Madison left quickly to do a security check, or so she said. A few of the other girls returned inside. Coco returned to bed. Misty and Cordelia remained alone on the front porch, watching the small group disappear in the distance.

  
"Have you ever lost anyone during a scavenging trip?" Misty asked, her eyes falling on Cordelia.

  
At first, she thought her question would remain unanswered. As the first golden rays of the sun passed through the tops of the evergreens and fell on them, Cordelia replied:

  
"Once. One of Zoe's girls. Thea. She covered the group while they retreated. Zoe saw her die but they never... they never found her body."

  
Cordelia cleared her throat then continued:

  
"But it's been weeks since they've had any problems."

  
She didn't dare say more and walked inside. Misty looked down the path, but the group was already out of sight. All she could hear in the distance was the metallic clicking of the carts rolling down into the valley.

  
Misty walked through the house, then into the garden, and all the way to the greenhouse. The woods were still blue with the night, just shadowy enough to project an aura of mystery. Still, Misty wasn't worried. There was at least a mile or two of forest between her and the wall circling the property and dozens of cameras in between. This side didn't even give on the road.

  
She opened the door and stepped inside.

  
"Good morning everyone."

  
The greenhouse was still asleep, still and quiet. Misty picked up the watering can and began making her rounds.

* * *

Misty spent most of her morning in the laundry room, cleaning hers and Mallory and Coco's clothes. While she was at it, she also helped two of the younger girls clean their clothes. The three of them hung everything outside before lunch, the smell of soap chasing their worries away, if at least temporarily. After lunch, Misty did a bit more cleaning in their bedroom, thinking that Mallory would appreciate coming back to a tidy room. She was tempted to lay down on her bed and listen to some music, but it felt strange that Mallory wasn't on the other side of the room. Instead, she went downstairs to try and distract herself.

  
She found Cordelia trying to teach a few of the girls to knit. Marnie had made a mess of yarn that somehow could not be untied. The little girl was staring expectedly at Cordelia, waiting for her mess to be fixed so she could create a new one. As soon as she heard footsteps coming closer, Cordelia reached for Misty like she was a lifeline:

  
"Hey, Misty? Do you know how to knit?"

  
Misty stepped into the living room. Five girls were seating on various pieces of furniture, every fiber of their being focused on the loops of yarns between their fingers.

  
"I guess," Misty replied. "Haven't done it in a long while."

  
Still, Cordelia jumped on the opportunity eagerly.

  
"Could you untangle Marnie's... scarf while I help the others?"

  
"Sure."

  
Cordelia smiled with relief. She handed the tangle of pink yarn to Misty who sat down on the ground and began to look at all the knots. Marnie stared down at her from her place in the big leather armchair, which dwarfed her terribly.

  
"I'm making a scarf," the little girl said proudly.

  
"That's a good idea," Misty agreed. "I heard it gets pretty chilly 'round here in winter."

  
"And then, Cordelia said I could make scarves for everyone!"

  
"Let's start with this one, okay?"

  
Misty tried to focus all of her attention on the mess, but even then, she couldn't quite unknit Marnie's mistakes. Marnie waited patiently for about five minutes, before she began to fidget, then stood up and left the room entirely, deciding to go play with her dolls instead. Misty was so focused on the knitting that she didn't notice at first. Only when she managed to untie one of the many, many knots did she look up to find the armchair empty.

  
"I think she gave up," Cordelia said as she came to crouch beside Misty.

  
"I'd say she has a future in the Navy, but..."

  
Still, Cordelia chuckled. She looked at the bundle of yarn between Misty's fingers and said:

  
"Just leave it here, I'll fix it later."

  
"You sure?"

  
"Yeah, don't worry about it."

  
Misty carefully placed the needles on the coffee table. Her eyes found Cordelia's, and she realized how warm and gentle they looked.

  
"Thank you," Cordelia said with a smile.

  
Then, she stood up and went back to the small group of knitters. Misty blinked, feeling the warmth rush to her cheeks. Her mind was blank for a second, incoherent for another, and when her neurons finally stopped misfiring, she was left dumb. What had just happened?

* * *

The scavenging party returned before the sun brushed the top of the trees. The talkie that was supposed to stay in the kitchen but Coco always brought back to their room crackled to life, and Mallory, out of breath, said they were at the gate. Misty, who was in the kitchen helping to prepare dinner, heard Coco rush down the stairs and knock on the door to Cordelia's office.

  
"They're back."

  
Cordelia left her office, and Coco ran outside to call her assistants. Misty wanted to leave the kitchen to go see the returning group, but she was surrounded by two eight-year-olds and Zelda, the only almost adult, was busy setting the table. She needed to stay there and keep an eye on the cooking pot full of canned soup, slowly bubbling over the electric stove. She tried to follow the conversation from afar.

  
First, she let out a sigh of relief when she saw all six of the girls return, dirtied and tired but untouched. Both Mallory and Zoe waved at her before they retreated upstairs, having probably planned a shower for their return. Then, Coco had to settle in the living room, forcing a group of teenagers outside so that only she and her assistants would be there, pilling up food on each furniture neatly. Backpacks were emptied, then the shopping carts. Supplies were counted, organized, and finally brought to the pantry or in the garage.

  
The first sitting was called at the table, leaving Misty alone to watch over the second batch of soup. That was when Coco emerged out of Cordelia's office, visibly worried. She saw Misty watching her, and came to lean against the kitchen counter beside her.

  
"How many cans did you use?" she asked lowly.

  
"Five, like you instructed," Misty replied with a frown.

  
Coco shook her head.

  
"We're gonna have to cut down soon."

  
Though Misty didn't want to prompt in such an open space, Coco continued of her own:

  
"The girls barely got half of what they usually get. They said it's all they could find, that's why they didn't come back until much later. If we don't find another place to go shopping we are dead. And then this entire coven is gonna turn into the Hunger Games faster than you can say 'I miss cake'."

  
Misty nodded in understanding. She had the solution, she knew. She made her decision. She would show the plants to Cordelia as soon as she could, probably after dinner. She was very glad she had planted the seeds when she had, instead of waiting.

  
"Why did I think of cake?" Coco groaned with annoyance. "I really do miss cakes. And honey. Do you think all the honeybees are dead now?"

  
Misty shrugged.

  
"Maybe not all of them. Maybe in a few years, they'll all be back."

  
"Well, I'll be the one dead by then. I hate the end of the world."

* * *

Dinner was tense. Misty had only known cheerful meals since her arrival, but tonight, no one laughed or joked around. Barely anyone dared to talk. It seemed half of the table knew something that the other half didn't. Cordelia and Zoe were staring at each other, creating most of the tension, for a reason unknown to Misty. Coco and Mallory kept whispering to each other. Everyone else was mostly confused. They all ate their soup in silence.

  
Mallory was the first one who dared to speak openly.

  
"Cordelia?"

  
She waited until the older woman's eyes were on her to say:

  
"I know Zoe already asked you, but we need to think about this again."

  
Cordelia's voice was unwavering when she replied:

  
"It is not up for debate. I already said no, as I'm sure you've been informed."

  
"We can't just sit around and wait," Zoe intervened. "There is no more food. It's not going to reappear magically, we need to look somewhere else."

  
"We don't know what's out there," Cordelia reminded the younger woman. "We don't know if we're alone in the entire valley, or if there are others, but we can't run the risk of finding out, especially not in a scavenging run."

  
"Fine," Zoe replied. "Let's put it up to the council. My girls and I can take a few days, go around the valley, gauge the situation. When we come back, we'll decide where to scavenge next."

  
"I already said no, how many times will I have to say no before you stop asking?"

  
Zoe stood up suddenly, her chair scrapping the parquet floor.

  
"I won't! Because we're all going to die if we don't do something, and I'm not going to sit around and wait for that to happen!"

  
She stormed off, leaving the room once again quiet. Soon after, Madison stood up as well. Misty thought she was going to say something, but she, too, seemed out of words, as she simply left the table.

  
Cordelia stood up grounds for a few more minutes, before she left the table quickly, and walked out through the front door. The door was still shaking when a few curious heads peaked out through the basement's doorway.

  
"Why is everyone yelling?" one of the girls asked.

  
Mallory stood up and led them back downstairs.

  
"It's okay, just grow-up problems. Why don't you guys pick a book and as soon as I'm done with dinner I'll come to read it to you, okay?"

  
Mallory returned to the table a few minutes later. The two other young women from her scavenging team looked at each other, then one said:

  
"I don't think she's gonna budge."

  
Mallory sighed.

  
"I'll think of something. For now, not a word to the others."

  
Coco rolled her eyes:

  
"Trust me, with how loudly these two just shouted, everyone already knows."

  
Misty, who usually could never get enough food, found she'd lost her appetite. She stood up and brushed her clammy hands on her skirt.

  
"I'll go talk to Cordelia."

  
The others tried to hold her off, saying there was nothing she could do, but she ignored them.

* * *

Misty found Cordelia seating under the porch, just outside the front door. She paused there, closing the door behind her. Cordelia turned around to see who was coming up to her. She wasn't crying, though she looked like she was close to it.

  
"Are you okay?" Misty asked.

  
She came to sit down beside the older woman, who let out a shaky breath.

  
"I know she's right. I know we can't just sit idly by and wait to run out of food. But I want to protect them. What if we start scavenging on someone else's territory, what if they follow them back here? There are groups better equipped out there, with more people, and better weapons. So many of us aren't even legal adults yet. I can't just risk it."

  
Misty nodded in understanding. She wanted to comfort Cordelia, to reassure her, but she wasn't sure where to start. Instead, she stood up and held out her hand.

  
"I've got something to show you. Something that could help."

  
Cordelia was both anxious and curious. She took Misty's hand carefully, letting the taller blonde pull her up. Misty tried very hard to ignore how soft Cordelia's hand felt in hers. Instead, she led her toward the greenhouse.

  
Night had fallen, but finding the path through the trees was easy. The glass building looked silvery under the light of the moon, passing through the pines. They reached it easily. Misty held the door open for Cordelia to step inside. Cordelia found the light switch, and a single fluorescent tube came to life, bathing the greenhouse with white harsh light. Cordelia looked around, not just at all the many flower pots all around the room, many more than she'd ever remembered planting, but at how green they were. Some of her dying plants seemed to have come back to life.

  
"What..."

  
"I had seeds with me," Misty explained. "I wanted to find a place alone in Canada and plant them, but since I'm staying, I started planting them here."

  
Cordelia was staring at all the green plants as if she'd never seen plants in her entire life.

  
"How... How long ago did you...?"

  
"About three weeks now. The strawberries are about ready."

  
Cordelia's eyes grew wide in shock.

  
"Strawberries?"

  
Misty picked up the rectangular flower pots and placed them on the central table to show Cordelia. A bunch of thin, string-like green stems had grown amidst sharp-looking leaves, and strawberries were ripening at their ends, slowly turning red.

  
"I don't understand, how did you make them grow?"

  
"With a lot of love, I suppose."

  
Cordelia looked at her, still completely shocked.

  
"I don't know how to thank you. This is..."

  
She started crying, and Misty blushed, embarrassed to have made Cordelia cry. She stepped closer to comfort her, and Cordelia pulled her into a fierce hug.

  
"Thank you."

  
"It's nothing," Misty replied as she hugged Cordelia back.

  
"No this is... This might just end up saving us."

  
"I still have a bit more, some I couldn't plant yet, or I ran out of pots. I wish I had brought more. Maybe the girls can bring more seeds next time."

  
Cordelia shook her head and stepped away from Misty, turning her back to her. She seemed to be observing the other plants.

  
"No, this is... We'll do with what you have. Or those tomato plants?"

  
Misty bit her lower lip, stopping herself from pursuing the issue. Perhaps Cordelia had decided to put an end to the scavenging runs entirely.

  
"Yep. In a few weeks we should have enough tomatoes for everyone, I hope. I also planted a few apple trees. For some time in the future."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Today hasn't really started well for me, well it had but then it didn't, so I hope this chapter could bring a bit of joy to you, on my behalf. Making other people happy makes me happy, so I hope this helped.  
> I started working on a foxxay one-shot this morning, a fun light-hearted one (or at least it should be, who knows how it might turn up once I'm done writing it). I think I'll post the Zadison one-shot later today, maybe that'll cheer me up.  
> Anyway, I hope you have a better day than me, and I'll see you tomorrow for the next one!


	7. The Coven's Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A farming team is established and a vegetable patch planted.

The next morning Cordelia called a meeting of the entire coven. It was a sight to behold, all forty girls crammed into the living room, bringing chairs over fro the dining room, squeezing in every spot available on the couch, pilling into the armchair, taking over the entire carpet. Zoe was the only one missing. She'd been present at breakfast but had decided to defy Cordelia once again. According to Madison, she was checking the perimeter, which Cordelia couldn't begrudge her for.

  
Cordelia found a spot in a corner of the fireplace where she could stand in front of everyone. Misty was standing at the edge of the crowd, the only one aware of what Cordelia would be announcing.

  
"Good morning, everyone," Cordelia began. "I have some good news to share today."

  
Half of the room seemed confused, probably caused by the rumors of storage problems spreading like wildfire around the community. The other half, mostly the younger girls, began to fidget excitedly and whisper loudly to each other.

  
"Girls," Cordelia scolded them, bringing back the quiet.

  
She cleared her voice and straightened her back even more.

  
"I'm sure that by now you all know Misty, who joined us last month."

  
The entire room, all thirty-eight pairs of eyes, turned to look at Misty, who gave an awkward wave.

  
"When she arrived Misty was carrying a lot of seeds with her, to grow food. She's been already growing quite a few in the greenhouse. We will soon have strawberries and tomatoes."

  
The more she spoke, the more the girls became collectively excited, their vibrating energy building and building, filling the air like a balloon ready to pop.

  
"And there will be more in the future. Starting today we will clear a part of the garden to make a vegetable patch. I will reassign some of you to this new farming team. We'll have a council meeting right after to discuss it."

  
The rest of Cordelia's speech was lost in a sea of loud whispers and low voices, overpowering her own. When she finally managed to calm them down, it was simply to let them go. Misty was suddenly surrounded by girls, all asking her thousands of questions about the strawberries and the tomatoes, and hugging her. Mallory had to intervene to save her life, forcing the girls away and shooing them to the garden.

  
"Thanks."

  
"You're the only one who can grow food around here. You just became the most valuable person in the coven."

  
Misty blushed and tried to said that it wasn't true, but she was interrupted by Cordelia.

  
"Council meeting in the library," she said. "Misty, you too."

  
As she made her way to the other room, she turned to Madison and said:

  
"Tell Zoe if she doesn't come to the council meeting I'll find someone else to take her place."

  
Madison smirked.

  
"Empty threat, but okay. She's been mulling all night anyway, she's bound to be done by now. She thinks so loudly, I swear, and I can't sleep when she's thinking."

  
She walked out and toward the forest. Misty followed the other to the library. It was a tall, squared room, tugged away under the staircase. There were books from the ceiling to the floor, each shelf packed to burst with hardcovers. A single couch lay in the middle, which Misty imagined was a pull-up couch, or else Zoe and Madison would have to sleep stacked on top of each other, which she couldn't imagine either of them doing. In a corner of the room was a table with a few flat screens on it, which Misty understood to be connected to the cameras outside. A few chairs were brought over from the living room, to form a circle. Misty was made to sit on Cordelia's right. Coco sat on her left. Queenie took the couch, and Mallory the other chair, leaving enough space for Zoe and Madison on the left side of the couch. They waited in silence.

  
"How the hell did you grow food?" Queenie suddenly asked, looking over at Misty. "I thought nothing grew in there anymore."

  
The others nodded along. Misty only shrugged.

  
"I just did what I usually do. A lot of care and attention."

  
"Your thumb must be so green," Coco said.

  
The silence returned until both Zoe and Madison walked in. Madison plopped on her spot on the couch, but Zoe remained standing.

  
"Is it true?" she asked, looking at Misty. "You're growing food?"

  
"Girl, if you'd bother to come to the meeting you'd know," Queenie replied.

  
Cordelia stood up, stopping any squabbles before they could turn into proper arguments.

  
"Girls, let's make this quick. First, Zoe, I wanted to apologize for yesterday. You're right, we can't just sit and wait, but we also have to be careful. I'll stand my ground for now. We'll have to proceed slowly, establish a larger scavenging zone, but fortunately, for now, it's not our priority anymore."

  
Zoe nodded, her tongue seemingly tied. She simply sat down beside Madison, and let Cordelia continue with the meeting.

  
"Misty, can you tell us exactly what you've planted already, and what you can still plant?"

  
Misty nodded and thought as quickly as she could with everyone's eyes on her.

  
"There's seven tomato plants, eight strawberry plants, two apple trees, two peach trees, four beanstalks, and three watermelon plants. I still have more strawberries seeds, more apple seeds, more peach pits, and a few apricots too. More beans, definitely more watermelons. By the way, we just might have to replant to watermelons in the garden..."

  
She trailed off before she could change the subject completely, and continued to think.

  
"I've got carrots, pumpkins, grapes but I think here is too cold to grow grapes... I have peas, but not many, we might want to use them to plant more. I have zucchinis, turnips... I think that's it..."

  
They were all slacked jawed.

  
"That's it?" Queenie replied. "With that, we can feed everyone."

  
Misty wasn't so certain.

  
"I didn't bring much, it was supposed to be for myself only. If I had known I'd found this place, I would have packed more."

  
"It's already more than enough," Cordelia assured her. "I propose we make the vegetable patch on the right side, as close to the greenhouse as we can. That way if we need to move plants in and out it will be easier."

  
Misty nodded, and since she seemed the only one to know what she was doing, the rest of the council agreed.

  
"We'll create a farming team," Cordelia continued, "and I think Misty should lead it."

  
Misty was speechless.

  
"But I've... I mean..."

  
"You're the one who grew the vegetables in the first place," Mallory said. "It can only be you."

  
"But I've only been here a month? What about the others?"

  
"The others couldn't grow freaking strawberries," Queenie replied. "You can."

  
While Misty was still dumbstruck, Cordelia declared:

  
"All for making Misty a team leader and giving her a seat at the council, raise your hand."

  
All hands were raised, even Zoe's. Cordelia looked at Misty with a smile.

  
"Then it's decided. How many people do you think will be required to farm?"

Misty blinked, her mind coming back to herself.

  
"I don't know..."

  
"How about half of the cooking staff?" Queenie suggested. "We're way too many anyway, and it'll give me an excuse to shake them up a bit."

  
"Eight people then?"

  
"I'll give one of my girls too," Madison decided. "I know exactly who. She's been jumpy lately, gardening should relax her. If not then I'll just lock her in the garage until she's better."

* * *

A list of the new farming crew was quickly made. Almost every girl picked to be part of the team was extremely happy to join in, and a few even tried to be added to the list, to no avail. The first day of the farming crew was a big one. Together they established a perimeter at the edge of the garden, separated it into parcels, each to receive a different plant. The girls were already ready to decorate it when Misty pulled out the only hoe she'd found hidden away in the basement. Then the girls finally understood that farming would not be all fun and games.

  
Most of them found something they exhaled at. Madison's nervous former guard, Ashley, found that plowing the earth was very relaxing, and she did most of the hard work herself. A small group of older girls worked together to recycle broken furniture and twigs to build a fence they could put around the garden. Even tiny Marnie finally found her purpose, as she carefully placed pumpkin seeds in each hole as Misty had shown her.

  
Very quickly, the new team found their rhythm. Misty drafted watering schedules, taught the girls how to plant seeds, how to replant them out of a pot and into the earth, how to make stakes and recognize when a plant was growing healthily. Many saw their patience tested, as the plants did not grow as quickly as they had first assumed, but Misty always found the words to motivate them again.

  
A week and a half after the team's creation, a few strawberries were ready to be harvested. They hoped to get one strawberry for each member of the coven. Coco made a list of who would get a strawberry first, to who would get it last. It was mostly ranked by age, with Marnie and the younger girls more likely to get them than the members of the councils. Madison grumbled all week long that she didn't care about having a strawberry, because she didn't like them anyway. When it became obvious that they wouldn't get forty strawberries, but more likely twenty, they started cutting them in half, to make sure that almost everyone would have at least a piece. Some girls took themselves off the list completely.

  
When Zoe got her strawberry, she gave half of it to Madison, who suddenly like them again. Coco and Mallory went back and forth on whether they should take their names off the lists entirely. They ran up to the girls who'd taken off their names and proposed to give their slot if they wanted back in. In the end, they each got a small, button-like strawberry, so delicate that it barely tasted as it should. Queenie also got her own strawberry, once she'd made sure everyone who wanted one had gotten it.

  
Misty was given the very last one, a small, red, rounded fruit. She cradled it in her hand and took it to Cordelia's office. Cordelia was, as usual, hunched over some papers. Misty wondered what kind of paper they were. Maybe something relative to the storage organization, probably made by Coco.

  
"Something wrong?" Cordelia asked.

  
"No, not at all."

  
Misty closed the door behind her and sat down. Cordelia sighed.

  
"I'm so used to people coming to me when something's wrong that I don't even think something could be right."

  
Misty laughed. She placed the small strawberry on the desk.

  
"It's the last one," she explained. "I know you took your name off the list, but I think you should have it."

  
"Me? Why? It's the fruit of your labor, literally. I can't."

  
"I wouldn't be here if you hadn't invited me to stay. Just take it, as a thank you."

  
Cordelia's eyes fell on the fruit, then back to Misty.

  
"I can't."

  
"But I want you to have it."

  
Cordelia shook her head but smiled.

  
"You know what, let's share it."

  
She opened her desk drawer and pulled out a knife. Misty gave her a surprised look, which made Cordelia laugh.

  
"I don't plan to defend myself with pencils."

  
"No, it's just... I never took your for a knife kinda gal."

  
"You thought I would carry a gun around?" Cordelia asked, surprised.

  
Misty wasn't sure what to reply.

  
"It's true that I can't see you with any sort of weapons in hands. Garden sheers, maybe?"

  
Cordelia laughed. She held the small strawberry between two fingers, and carefully cut it in half. Red, watery juice stained the large wooden desk, but she didn't seem to mind.

  
"To your success," she said, taking her half by the leaves.

  
"To future successes," Misty replied, lifting her half as well.

  
Misty almost forgot to eat it when she heard Cordelia moan at the taste of the fruit. She only remembered when she felt the sticky juice of the strawberry running down on her wrist. She bit the fruit off the leaves and found that she couldn't contain herself either, letting out a moan of her own. She looked at Cordelia with a goofy smile.

  
"It's so good."

  
Cordelia seemed dumbfounded for a second before she returned Misty's smile.

  
"I can't remember the last time I ate fresh fruit."

  
"There will be more," Misty said. "I promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> I have posted my Zadison story yesterday, it's called "Saturday Night's Alright", if you haven't checked it out yet, it's mostly fluff.  
> I wanted to thank everyone for leaving comments yesterday, it really made me feel better. I am no longer depressed by still very uncertain, however you do not have to worry because no matter what I will continue to post this story every single day, especially since we're approaching my favorite part!  
> Beyond that, I'll see you guys tomorrow for the next one!


	8. Blossoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misty manages to convince Cordelia to relax for half an hour.

Misty listened from the living room as Zoe and Mallory pondered over a map of the area in the dining room. They'd already suggested a few new scavenging grounds to Cordelia, but they'd yet to find a compromise between staying close to the house and going as far away from it as possible, to hopefully fuller shops. She could hear them whispering back and forth to each other, pointing to the map from time to time, opening a bit more of it before closing it up again. Cordelia would not let them out again until they'd all agreed on a new location.

  
"Misty?" Zoe called her over.

  
She stood up from the couch, avoided the girls playing on the carpet and joined the two council members around the table.

  
"Can you tell us which way you came from?"

  
Misty stared longly at the map. The girls had highlighted the house and the forest around in pink. Misty followed the road with her finger, trying to remember the exact path she had taken.

  
"I climbed up there, I think it was an old ski run. Over there, that's where I met those three guys. I think they were hunting or something. I don't know exactly where they came from."

  
Zoe frowned as she looked more closely at the zone Misty indicated to her.

  
"I thought they were higher, but maybe they didn't come from the resort at all. Maddie told me she didn't find anything of the hotel on them."

  
"You think it's worth checking out?" Mallory asked.

  
"We'll have to be careful, maybe send me and my girls ahead just in case, but it's worth a shot."

  
Zoe picked up the pencil beside the map and circled the ski resort up the mountain. She traced a single line over the road, from the resort to the house.

  
"Seems closer to the town even."

  
Without another word, she picked up the map and crossed the entrance hall, to knock on Cordelia's door. Mallory and Misty followed a few seconds later. Zoe had placed the map on Cordelia's desk and was showing her their new plan.

  
"See? It's even closer to the house than the supermarket. We'll stop here, before the last turn. My team will go first, check the perimeter, and if it's clear, we'll go on ahead."

  
Cordelia considered the situation, looking the map over. Then, she looked up at Mallory, who was standing in the doorway.

  
"You think there's still things there?"

  
"Hard to say. The last time we were there people were mostly focused on leaving. But I don't think there's anyone left there. No one has been coming down the mountain in months."

  
Cordelia nodded.

  
"Fine. I trust you guys to be careful."

  
Zoe picked up the map and folded it.

  
"I'll go to prepare everything."

  
Both she and Zoe left the office. Misty remained by the doorstep. Cordelia leaned back in her chair with a sigh, one hand massaging her right temple.

  
"You okay?" Misty asked.

  
Cordelia smiled at her, the tension leaving her shoulders.

  
"Yes, it's just a headache. This scavenging problem is going to come back, even if they return with both carts full."

  
Misty tried to give Cordelia a comforting smile.

  
"Well, it's solved for now. Why don't you relax for a bit?"

  
Cordelia laughed as if the suggestion was too ridiculous to be true.

  
"I wish I could but there's still the meal planning to approve, and a new laundry schedule to draw."

  
"I think they can wait half an hour," Misty replied. "Come on. When was the last time you went to the greenhouse?"

  
Cordelia seemed hesitant, but finally, she stood up and followed Misty out of her office.

  
"Just half an hour."

  
"Promise."

* * *

Misty watched as Cordelia surveyed the greenhouse with wonder in her eyes. It was much greener than she remembered it to be. The many plants Misty had planted weeks ago had grown strong and beautiful. Small, jade-colored tomatoes were maturing in a corner. More strawberries had been planted where the watermelons used to be. A group of freshly filled pots rested on the table in the middle, the earth dark and moist, hiding a secret that Cordelia had no doubt would germinate soon.

  
Most impressive still was her old corner of the greenhouse, where most of her plants used to hang. It was once again alive and vibrant with colors. Flowers had begun to blossom under the summer light. Their pale hues attracted the eye like a rainbow in the clear sky.

  
"How..."

  
Cordelia came to stand by the corner, leaning over the work table there to touch the delicate petals with a single finger, in complete disbelief.

  
"I cheated," Misty admitted. "I found a couple of bags of seeds hidden away in the garage."

  
Cordelia smiled at her nonetheless.

  
"I'm starting to think that you really do have superpowers."

  
Misty frowned.

  
"Who said that?"

  
"Some of the younger girls. They think you're some sort of witch who can make plants grow magically."

  
Misty chuckled.

  
"I wish that were true, it would help us quite a lot."

  
"You've already done more than enough," Cordelia assured her.

  
Misty kneeled to pick up something hidden away in a terracotta pot.

  
"I didn't bring you here to admire the flowers. Well, I did, but..."

  
Misty showed a bag of sunflower seeds.

  
"I thought you might like to help me plant these?"

  
Cordelia smiled and took the bag out of Misty's hands.

  
"It was in the garage too?"

  
Misty nodded with a bright, goofy grin.

  
"Then what are we waiting for?"

  
Misty pulled four flower pots she'd saved for this moment and placed them on the table in the middle of the greenhouse. They began to fill each pot with earth silently, though Misty could feel some energy vibrating between them, a pure, calm energy that made both of them at ease and happy. Misty noted that the bag of twenty gallons of dirt was almost empty. They would have to use the rest sparingly.

  
Once the pots had been filled, Misty and Cordelia stood side by side in front of the table, the bag of seeds between them.

  
"How many do we plant?" Cordelia asked, excitement vibrating in her voice.

  
"Let's try four by pot," Misty suggested.

  
They began planting the seeds, one at a time, with care and love. Misty reached blindly for the bag and found Cordelia's hand instead. She looked up at Cordelia with surprise, their eyes meeting each other. Misty blinked and took a step back, blushing.

  
"Sorry..."

  
Cordelia looked away, at the flower pot in front of her. She cleared her throat but still, her voice was shaking when she replied:

  
"It's alright..."

  
Silence returned, tenser, less comfortable. Cordelia felt the need to fill it.

  
"Did you find anything else in the garage?"

  
"Mostly flowers," Misty replied as she switched flower pot. "I'm assuming they were supposed to be planted in the garden."

  
"Probably."

  
Misty felt the anxious silence return and picked up the conversation before it could die.

  
"I thought about placing them in the garden, around the house and all, but I thought we should keep that space for more vegetables, for later."

  
"Later..."

  
Cordelia let out a small sigh.

  
"I had hoped this situation wouldn't have lasted this long, you know? I thought they would get a hold of the situation, somehow, and things would go back to normal quickly. But instead, things just seem to become more and more chaotic."

  
Misty nodded.

  
"I never really counted on anyone coming to help. Aliens, maybe."

  
Cordelia laughed and gently bumped Misty's shoulder with her own.

  
"I don't know how long we can stay here," Cordelia confessed. "Every morning I wake up and I think 'maybe this is the last day of my life', but somehow I always make it to the evening. I never thought I could get used to uncertainty like that."

  
Misty placed a comforting hand on Cordelia's shoulder.

  
"I know I've only been here for a month or so, but this place is probably the most stable in the entire country right now. I don't see why anything bad would happen out of nowhere. Plus, we just planted apple trees, and these suckers are gonna take a decade to grow apples, I intend to be there when they do."

  
Cordelia laughed and looked at Misty. Her hand was still on the older woman's shoulder. She told herself to take it off, but her muscles just didn't seem to work anymore. Cordelia didn't try to shrug the hand away.

  
"Me too," she said.

  
Blue eyes met brown ones as the last rays of the sun passed through the glass ceiling, catching the light on fire. Misty was certain she'd stopped breathing. Her heart stopped beating for a full minute, before she couldn't hear anything but its pounding, directly in her ears. All the cocooned butterflies in her stomach suddenly broke out and began to fly around, uncomfortably trapped under her skin.

  
Misty wasn't sure who leaned in first. She thought it was her as her head angled down to reach Cordelia. But she was certain of who pulled away first. Cordelia took a step away, her smile faltering on her lips. She brushed her hands off on her pants, looking away at the walls of the greenhouse. Misty blinked back to reality when she felt her heart crumbling in her chest. Cordelia cleared her throat and said in a weak voice:

  
"I'll go see if they've started preparing dinner."

  
Misty nodded along.

  
"Yeah, okay..."

  
Cordelia brushed past her to get to the door, making Misty jump out of her skin. She paused by the door. Misty managed a smile as she said:

  
"Go on ahead. I'll just finish here, I'll be right there."

  
Cordelia nodded and smiled, but disappeared out of the door quickly. Misty let out a shaky breath. Had this just happened? Had she just tired to kiss Cordelia? Her heart had returned to her chest, fluttering against her ribs at the same rhythm that those stomach butterflies. How had all of these feelings sneaked up on her, she still wasn't sure. Or maybe she just hadn't connected the dots properly. In any case, she was glad nothing had happened. She wasn't, really, but better stop it now before Cordelia inevitably crushed her feelings.

  
She distracted herself quickly, placing the newly inhabited flowerpots under a sunbeam and sealing the bag of sunflower seeds close. She placed it with the others, her little collection of seeds, and sighed longly. She felt her eyes prickling and refused to cry, but the tears still fell all the same. She brushed them away, smearing dirt on her cheek, and walked out of the greenhouse before the last rays of the sun could be taken away by the trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry about today's chapter, but it's no fun if there's not at least a fakeout kissing scene! I prefer those to straight up break-up scenes that are usually for stupid reasons and don't matter cause the characters get together in the end anyway. Trust me, fakeout kissing scenes are the real drama.  
> I hope that despite it you still enoyed this chapter, and I'll see you tomorrow for the next one!


	9. Operation Canary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Misty realizes that the coven is in trouble again, she, Mallory and Coco come up with a new, dangerous plan to save everyone...

_89 days after the end of the world_

  
Misty was worried. The tomatoes were coming along nicely, but there wouldn't be enough. Sure, there would be at least one for everyone this time, maybe a few more than that, but how many meals could they make out of forty-five tomatoes when they needed to feed forty people? She'd greatly underestimated the number of crops needed to feed such a large community. Misty wanted to confide her fears to Cordelia, but they hadn't spoken since the greenhouse. It wasn't that they were avoiding each other, but somehow they were never in the same room at the same time, and neither of them specifically sought out the other.

  
"How many meals can we make with forty-five tomatoes?" she finally asked Coco one evening, while the two of them and Mallory were laying in their beds, waiting for the clock to turn until it felt appropriately late for them to go to sleep.

  
Coco shrugged.

  
"One."

  
Misty sighed.

  
"That's what I feared."

  
Mallory closed off her book, interested in the conversation.

  
"One meal for all that work?"

  
"We don't have enough plants," Misty said. "We need more seeds, more pots, even more dirt."

  
Coco sat up.

  
"We'll just plant the seeds we get from the tomatoes."

  
"We can't keep doing this forever," Misty replied.

  
She sighed and tried to explain:

  
"At one point it'll get too cold for most of the vegetables to grow, then we'll have to rely on the pumpkins, mostly. The peach trees won't be ready for another three years and don't get me started on the apple trees. And what do we do in between the six weeks it takes for the tomatoes to grow? What if we run out of food in the meantime?"

  
"So what you're basically telling us is that this miracle solution is just delaying the inevitable?" Coco said in disbelief as if the idea hadn't grazed her mind until now.

  
She looked at Mallory, who simply shrugged as if she had already all figured out.

  
"Unbelievable. Un-fucking-believable."

  
While Coco processed the news, Mallory sat up in turn and looked at Misty.

  
"So what do we need? You said more seeds, more pots, more dirt?"

  
"The fresh dirt from those big bags they sold in garden shops," Misty explained. "They're full of nutrients, they help the more fragile plants to grow. We definitely need more tools, I mean, we've been sharing the same hoe this entire time and it's about to break."

  
Coco frowned.

  
"You don't what a hoe is, do you?" Mallory noted.

  
"Don't mind me, just keep going."

  
Misty thought longly.

  
"We need to prepare for this winter too. If it's going to snow like I think it will, we need to get as many tarpaulins as we can, to cover everything up. Maybe some of those protective sheets to wrap around them too..."

  
She looked up at Coco and Mallory, neither of whom seemed to know what she was talking about. Mallory pursed her lips thoughtfully, then she said:

  
"There's a Carrots and Camellias down into the valley, further down than the supermarket. We could ask Cordelia to let us go there, but I doubt she'll agree."

  
Misty shook her head.

  
"I already asked her for more supplies, she said we'd do with what we have, but it's not enough."

  
Mallory looked at Coco, who instantly said:

  
"No. I know exactly what you're thinking about, and I don't like it at all."

  
"It's the only way."

  
"I know, and I absolutely hate it."

  
Coco groaned.

  
"We're so dead whatever we do."

  
Mallory turned to Misty, who'd watched them interact with a frown.

  
"Cordelia is probably going to kill us if we make it back, but it's the best thing to do."

  
"The three of us?" Misty asked, still unsure about what Mallory exactly had in mind.

  
"I don't want to rope in the others," Mallory said. "I'm responsible for them and if anything happened because of my stupid plan."

  
"Oh, sure, you can't risk your girls, you'd rather risk your best friend," Coco said with annoyance.

  
When Mallory glared at her, Coco lifted her hands in surrender.

  
"Fine, I'll shut up."

  
Mallory turned back to Misty.

  
"With three we can bring back more things. You know exactly what we need and Coco and I can push the carts."

  
"But what about security?"

  
"I'll ask Zoe. She'll be in, there's no way she won't be."

  
Misty considered the plan for a minute. She was about ready to try anything to make sure no one starved to death, and if this was the best thing they could come up with, she was in.

  
"When are we leaving?"

  
"Let's do it Saturday. We'll leave at five, make sure we don't wake up anyone."

  
"Oh sure, no one will notice that four council members and both shopping carts are gone," Coco said as she lay back down and rolled away from Mallory.

  
"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Misty assured.

  
"Oh, I'm definitely coming. That way I can tell you 'I told you so' if we all die."

* * *

Zoe was in. There was no way she wasn't in. She spent the entire day planning the quickest path to the shop and back and avoiding Madison who would have certainly tried to change her mind about the whole enterprise. Misty could barely sleep that night. She was anxious, but not in a good way. More than once she thought about going downstairs and talk to Cordelia. Tell her what they had planned, why they had to do it, try to convince her somehow that it was the best thing to do. Once she even sat up. Then, she lay back down and realized how much of a terrible idea it was.

  
When Zoe came to get them, right before five, she was armed to the teeth, with a lever-action rifle on her back, a pistol and a knife at her belt, and probably carrying more hidden weapons that Misty wasn't seeing. They walked downstairs as silently as they could and picked up the backpacks from the garage. Misty was entrusted with the big traveling back, which limply fell back, not made to be carried empty. Mallory and Coco took the smaller backpacks which probably used to belong to high school students. Together they carried the shopping carts out of the garage, careful to make a minimal amount of noise.

  
The carts were finally placed down on the concrete road at the bottom of the slope. Coco and Mallory pushed them toward the front gate. Zoe walked ahead, then kneeled beside the gate to manually open it. It was the first time she'd seen the front gate, Misty realized. It was a modern, white slab of plastic, which scrolled to the side on a thin rail. Stone pillars rested on either side of the gate, with metal ornaments on top, representing two cats who, like good gatekeepers, stared at the road ahead.

  
Misty paused and looked back. She couldn't see the house clearly anymore, simply the roof peeking over the treetops. The first rays of the sun had begun to hit the solar panels, making them spark like water. Forcing her dirty old boots forward, Misty passed through the gates and waited until it had closed behind them to follow the rest of the group down the road.

* * *

The concrete road, like a long, black snake, stifled the mountain and wrapped around its entire length in a sinuous fashion, sometimes among trees and other time through dark, no-longer lit tunnels. Through it all, Zoe was prepared. Any abandoned cars on the side of the road had been pushed aside. Passing through the tunnels became easier once she pulled out a few headlamps from her backpack. She walked on ahead, checking every entrance and exit to make sure no one was waiting to ambush them.

  
No one spoke during the entire descent, not even Coco. The only sounds they heard were the squeaky wheels of the carts and their footsteps. Misty realized after almost two months without shoes, she'd forgotten completely how to lift her feet high enough not to drag her shoes on the ground. It took a bit of practice, but by the time they reached the town, she wasn't walking as loudly anymore.

  
Misty didn't know what she'd expected from the small town of Pine Valley, but this wasn't it. A completely deserted town. Empty cars littering the streets. Dark windows. Smashed windows. Grass growing strong through every crack in the ground. Absolute silence. They passed the town hall, with a statue of some explorer in front of it. His feet had already been overtaken by ivy. The supermarket the community had been raiding was at the end of a street, just uphill to a hairdresser, and a gift shop.

  
The dead birds Mallory had once mentioned were still there, decomposing. Misty stirred clear of the little puddles of flesh, feathers, and bones. The flowers on the balconies had turned to dust. The ones in the grass had spread out uncontrollably, through fences and children tree-houses. The sign marking the limit of the town had been toppled. They crossed it and continued down the road.

  
Houses gave way to trees once again. Misty could see for thousands of miles in the distance, as the road took a sharp turn on the edge of the mountain. A sea of evergreens swayed gently under the summer wind. They spread over the mountains, rising as high as they could until the air became too cold, and eternal snow replaced the green. Down into the valley was another quiet town. Where the horizon blurred with the clouds, Misty thought she could see another town, bigger. A city, hours away from them.

  
This was paradise, the perfect stillness of a postcard. For the blink of a second, Misty forgot everything around her, transfixed by the view. Then, one of the shopping cards rolled over a pebble, and loudly complained of the sudden bump. The squeak brought Misty back to reality, and she continued on her way.

  
The sun was behind them when they reached the large complex harboring their target, hitting the empty parking lot with bright, unobstructed light. Very few cars had been left behind here. Zoe nervously clung to her rifle. She seemed worried about the open space. To their right was a toy shop. The metal gate over the windows was busted and hung partially open. To their left was a shop selling sports and outdoor activity equipment. A truck had been rammed into the front window. Blood was smeared near the entrance.  
The Carrots and Camellias was as glorious as Misty remembered it to be. A large, rectangular building, with a green, house-like roof, on which the name was proudly written. None of the windows were busted, which gave everyone great hope that the shop had been overlooked. There was no light inside either. Zoe was the first to reach the automatic doors, but they refused to open.

  
"Is there a second entrance?" Coco asked, looking around.

  
"There should be a door in the back," Misty replied.

  
Before they could decide to go around, Zoe picked up a nearby decorative stone, probably part of some vegetal display and abandoned there. She threw it with all her strength on the automatic door. It cracked with a sickening sound, similar to bones snapping. A large, spiderweb-like pattern was left behind, as the stone fell back to the ground with a thud. Zoe gave a kick, then another. The cheap Plexiglas tore off its metal frame, and the entire window fell through.

  
"Sure, why not?" Coco said with an eye roll.

  
While they debated how to get the shopping carts through the gap, Misty walked in and found the switch-box beside the door. She pulled the lever and the doors struggled apart with a groan.

  
"Emergency opener, in case there's a power surge," she explained.

  
They all walked inside, and Misty forced the doors shut behind them. They were standing at the beginning of a long aisle, with flowerpots on either side, assorted on tables and shelves and racks along the walls. The plants closest to the windows, or in the path of the sun, were the ones who'd thrived the most, as, despite the lack of water, they'd continued to grow and spread to their neighbors, sometimes absorbing them altogether. The ones who'd remained in the darkness for months had shriveled, yellowed and died, sometimes leaving empty flower pots. Misty felt the urge to water them. She took a deep breath, letting the fake smell of flowers fill her nose. It was a miracle the scent diffusers were still up and running.

  
"Come on, we've got work to do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So, what do you think? Are they going to suceed or is this plan going to be an absolute catastrophe? And more importantly, what will Codelia think? Well, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out!  
> I've started working on yet another foxxay story this morning. I told myself I should stop telling you guys about every story that I start, especially since I've started and failed to continue quite a few in the past week or so, but I'm always kind of excited to share that I'm working on something, I think it helps me finish writing them.  
> Have you guys seen the trailer for "Hollywood"? It's Ryan Murphy's new show on Netflix and it looks amazing. At first I was surprised that Sarah Paulson wasn't in it but this time it's her girlfriend Holland Taylor who plays in it. Either way I am excited.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you tomorrow for the next one!


	10. Shopping Spree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group sets out to loot the shop.

Misty led the group through the shop. It was very similarly organized as the shop she used to work at. After walking through the aisle of plants, a turn to the left led through the outdoor equipment aisle. Lounging chairs, barbecues and fairy lights of all sorts still hung on the shelves, untouched by time. On the right was the entrance to a greenhouse-like area, with a glass roof and low racks of plants, in plastic pots. There, in a corner, hung hundreds upon hundreds of bags of seeds. Misty had forgotten they sold so many. It was a beautiful sight to behold. The others seemed to think so too, as Mallory cursed at the sight of it.

  
"Holy shit..."

  
"There's bound to be more in reserve," Misty said.

  
"I found the tools," Zoe shouted from another corner of the room, hidden behind stacks of boxed lawnmowers.

  
Misty nodded.

  
"Okay, let's be organized. Mallory, take all the seeds that will give us food, put them in your bag. Zoe, take the cart and put all the tools in it, at least five of each should be fine. Coco and I, we'll go see what they have in reserve. If I'm right on this, they should have boxes of these."

  
The thought of boxes filled with seeds made everyone excited. Mallory quickly slid the backpack off her shoulders and placed it on the ground, as she began to tear fistful of cardboard envelopes from the hooks. Zoe brought the cart over and began loading it with hoes and shovels and watering cans. Misty led Coco through an aisle of expensive flower pots and decorative garden elements, toward the restricted area.

  
"I haven't gone shopping in forever," Coco declared. "This is so much fun."

  
The metal green door was marked with a 'Employees only' sign. Misty tried pulling on the door, but it was still locked. She picked up a nearby garden gnome and broke the handle with two effective blows, leaving the gnome slightly cracked but still standing.

  
The restricted area was a large warehouse. Tools and boxes hung on the shelves, vainly waiting to be put on display. The wheels of the shopping cart rang loudly in the empty room as Coco pushed it quickly after Misty. Misty was trying to get her bearings again, but fortunately, this shop also happened to have a similar shelving system. Maybe all Carrots and Camellias did, she imagined. She pulled a large yet light box off the shelf and pulled her pocket knife out of her boot to cut through the tape. Inside were piles of those cardboard pockets containing the seeds they so desperately sought.

  
"They're in alphabetical order," Misty noted as she began sorting through them.

  
Coco pulled her backpack off of her shoulders.

  
"Come on, let's just take it all," she decided.

  
Misty took her backpack off, and together they began stuffing the envelopes in the bags. Once the box was almost empty, Misty pulled another one, opened it, and they mechanically emptied it. Coco had to struggle with her backpack, filling it until the zip was hard to close, and the bag's fabric stretched as taut as it could. She put it in her shopping cart and began wandering around, while Misty continued to fill her bag almost frantically.

  
"Do you know what we need to bring back?" Coco decided. "A pink flamingo."

  
She gasped suddenly.

  
"Oh my God, this is the cutest chicken coop I've ever seen! Let's bring one back! All we need after that are to find actual chickens."

  
Misty smiled but didn't reply, focused on opening the third box of seeds. She'd barely filled the bottom of her bag, she had no doubt they would be able to bring them all back. A few shelves away, Coco let out another gasp.

  
"Is that a beehive? Misty, can we bring it back? I want a beehive."

  
"We'll see, okay?" Misty decided because she thought having a beehive would indeed be very neat, if not a bit dangerous.

  
Coco came back soon after, looking at the boxes still on the shelves.

  
"How many do you have left?"

  
"I'm at turnip," Misty said, stacking more pockets into her bag. "One more box and we're good."

  
Coco put her backpack on once again and looked around as she secured the straps, adjusting for the added new weight.

  
"Hey, is that the break room?"

  
Misty looked up to the door Coco was pointing toward.

  
"Probably."

  
"I'll check it out, see if they have some food left."

  
Misty cut the last box open. She forced more envelopes inside, and once she was sure nothing else would get in, she closed it off and began filling the side pockets. Coco suddenly let out a yelp of surprise.

  
"What?"

  
"They have an unopened bag of powdered coffee! This place is a goddamn miracle!"

  
Misty chuckled. She forced the last few envelopes inside with a sigh, then closed the side pockets off. Just as she was about to get up, she heard it. Voices. Laughter. Men's voice. In the fraction of a second, she acted on instinct. She abandoned the empty cart, and pulled her bag to the break room, closing off the door behind her. Coco was about to speak and ask what was up. Misty shushed her and sat down against the wall at the edge of the door.

"People," she murmured. "Outside."

  
Coco froze completely, standing in the middle of the room. Misty realized a second too late she'd left her pocket knife by the empty boxes outside. She clenched her teeth, willing the fear away. She stood up, grabbed a knife from the drying rack by the sink, and pulled Coco down with her as she crouched by the door once again.

* * *

Mallory had been debating whether sunflower seeds counted as food or not. She'd never eaten any before, but when times got hard, anything eatable would do. She suddenly heard voices echoing through the shop, and they didn't belong to her friends.

  
"You sure, man?"

  
"Yeah, I told you I saw 'em. A group of girls with shopping carts."

  
Mallory looked around, panicked. She remained crouched near her bag. As she leaned to the side she saw Zoe peaking from her spot by the tools, motioning for her to remain silent. Zoe had not pulled her gun out, but her combat knife instead. They waited. The men's voices continued through the aisle, and past them, directly to the decorative section.

  
"Why the fuck would a group of girls be coming here?"

  
"I don't know, man, the flowers?"

  
They laughed. Zoe leaned over, motioned for Mallory to stay put. Then, she followed them.

  
They were five. Five men, armed with guns of their own, making their way toward the door to the restricted area.

  
"I don't see anyone," one of them said.

  
"Let's spread out," another one decided.

  
Two of them walked through the 'Employee only' door, while the three others began wandering about the empty shop. Zoe crouched behind a shelf of fairy lights. One of the men was coming her way. She held her breath, waiting. As soon as he was passed her she sneaked out. She got hold of his head, placing a hand over his mouth, and forced him backward. She slashed his throat with one swift motion. She placed him on the ground silently as he heaved, each breath drawing out more blood through the cut, and spreading on the ground around him. His polo was already soaking in blood, going from blue to red.

  
Looking around, she found that one of the guys was walking toward the rows of counters at the front of the shop. The other was making his way around, toward where Mallory was hiding. She circled around, taking the same path that had led her away from her friend. Mallory was still crouching in the corner, holding her breath, waiting, with no idea that one of them was coming her way. Zoe hurried by her side and waited beside her. Footsteps resounded closer and closer. Zoe stood up, knife at the ready. Once she thought he was close enough, she jumped out, ready to stab him. However, he was smaller than she'd imagined. Instead of stabbing him, she grazed his shoulder, and they both fell to the ground, toppling a nearby shelf in the process. In the struggle, Zoe's bloody knife slid out of her hand. She stood above him, and while he struggled to push her off she wrapped her hands around his neck and pressed down, pulling all of her strength in her fingers. He tried to push her off by placing his hand on her face, but she bit his finger so hard he bled. The taste of copper filled her mouth. She clenched her teeth and pressed down. His eyes turned red, bulging out of his skull. He gasped, let out one last grunt, then finally grew slack. She continued to force down for a few seconds, just for good measure. Then, she sat back on her heels. She brushed the blood off of her mouth. He'd scratched her lip with her nail, leaving a single cut on her lower lip. As Zoe remembered to breathe, she began looking for her knife. What she found instead was far more interesting. She decided it was time for an upgrade.

  
"Shit!"

  
The third guy had found the first one, in a pool of his own blood. Then, he heard the loud motor of a chainsaw coming to life. He turned around, just in time to see the glint of the barbed chain. He huffed in shock as it dug itself in his belly. Zoe kept it there, let the tiny blades grind his inside into a pulp until it was almost all the way through. He fell to the ground in two pieces, and a few tiny ones in between. Zoe's right side was covered with blood.

  
The door to the restricted area banged against the wall as it was open suddenly. One of the two men, alerted by the screams of agony of his friend, had rushed through. The first thing he saw was Zoe, dripping with blood, armed with a bloody chainsaw in her hands, and his friend's two pieces at her feet.

  
"Holy shit!"

  
He pulled the gun from the back of his pants, but not quickly enough. Zoe's chainsaw fell down on his head. His mashed-up brain leaked out from the wound as she pulled away. He was still in the way, so she gave one last swing, one clean beheading slice. He, too, fell in two pieces on the ground.

  
There was a bang, and Zoe recoiled with a hiss. Her chainsaw fell out of her hand, the chain coming to a sudden stop as Zoe's finger was no longer on the trigger. She hid against the wall, at the edge of the door, as more shots echoed. Zoe winced as she placed her hand on her right arm. The bullet had passed right through, hitting the flesh and missing the bone by an inch. The man would be out of bullets soon, she assumed, and she wasn't wasting any of hers, not when he was the last one. She looked around and found a cracked garden gnome on the ground. She picked it up and waited.

  
There was a click, as the man pulled out his magazine to reload his handgun. Zoe rushed out of her hiding spot. The man was standing near their shopping cart and a bunch of empty cardboard boxes. He was trying to force the bullets in the magazine with shaking hands. He looked up just in time to see Zoe throw the gnome at him. It shattered into a dozen pieces against his skull. He fell on his back. Zoe slid up to him on her knees. She saw a pocket knife on the ground, picked it up with her left hand, and stabbed him in the chest. She pulled out the knife and stabbed him again in the belly. Then again, and again, and again, and again.

  
Zoe let out a long breath. She felt disgusting, covered in blood as she was.

  
"Guys?" she called out.

  
The door to the break room opened, revealing Misty and Coco on the other side. Misty was still holding a blunt knife, while Coco was cradling a pack of powdered coffee.

  
"I wouldn't mind a napkin... or something."

* * *

Zoe was sat in a corner with a piece of tablecloth to clean the blood off of her face. Mallory made a tourniquet with a belt and bandaged her arm with the first-aid kit they retrieved from the break room. She was handed her rifle back and watched over them as they continued to load everything in the shopping carts. Two twenty-gallon bags of dirt, one under each cart. Five hoes, five shovels, five trowels, three rakes, four saws – to cut both trees and body parts, just in case – five garden sheers, and a brand new chainsaw for Zoe. Ten bags containing tarpaulins of various sizes. Winter protective sheets to prepare for the colder season. Every single terracotta pots they could fit in the second shopping cart. Ready to be planted and somehow still alive strawberry plants. Whatever Coco could loot from the break room and the dry food aisle near the counters. Whatever Mallory could loot from the dead bodies. And because they still had enough space, a kit to build your own beehive.

  
Having thoroughly and expertly raided the shop, Misty opened the automatic doors for her friends once again. Once they were all out, she closed off the door and stepped through the hole. The sun was high above them. They were hungry, tired and thirsty, but very pleased with themselves. A single truck was left alone on the parking lot, and would probably end its life there.

  
"Hey guys," Mallory said, fishing something from her pocket. "I got the keys."

  
They all stopped, staring at the vehicle. It was a small truck with two seats at the front and a platform at the back, with support bars above it. A few bags had been left at the back.

  
"I don't think we can fit all of our things at the back," Coco noted. "Plus we are not abandoning the shopping carts."

  
Still, with her good arm, Zoe opened each bag, checking in quickly. She managed to scrap a bit more food, mostly jerkies and chocolate bars, and more bullets. She tossed them in the shopping carts with the rest.

  
"Alright, let's go."

  
Coco and Mallory began pushing the carts once again, struggling with the weight for a moment before they managed to move again. They would have to mind their way back up, Misty knew.

  
"Well, after all that, let's just hope Cordelia doesn't kill us when we come back," Coco said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So this was the chapter why I put the "Graphic Depiction of Violence" warning. Like I said at the begining, it's really nothing compared to some of the shit we've seen on AHS.  
> There's an easter egg hidden in this chapter that is almost impossible to find, because I love placing references in my stories that only I know about. If you can find it, I will give you a recipe for some amazing cookies (cause I can't give you cookies but I can help you make some). A clue, it has to do with the kills Zoe scored in this chapter, but it's not the very obvious reference to the Halloween episode in which she used a chainsaw to cut the zombies to pieces. Leave a comment, tell me if you've guessed the easter egg and if you do you'll win a cookie!  
> Anyway, as usual I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you tomorrow for the next one!


	11. Easier to Ask for Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group returns with difficulty to the coven, only to face a cold reception...

The trip back took longer and was far more difficult than the initial descent. For one, the bags of dirt were very, very heavy. Coupled with the weight of the tools, the flowerpots, and the backpacks, it quickly became very difficult for Mallory and especially Coco to push the carts up the slope, even if it wasn't too steep. At one point, Misty had to practically force Coco away so she could push it herself, instead enduring the older woman's cries of annoyance, as she claimed that she could do it and she didn't need the help. Coco then started pulling the cart up, helping Misty as much as she could. When Mallory started to struggle as well, Zoe tried to replace her behind the cart. Mallory categorically refused, since she was wounded. With her good arm, Zoe began pulling the cart too.

  
With the summer sun right above them, they soon came to regret their decision not to pack any water - they had not felt entitled to any in this rogue mission. They paused at every tunnel, under every shadow the mountain projected over the road, before having to bare the sun again. Zoe's wounded arm, trapped by a tourniquet, grew numb from a lack of blood, while she grew paler with every foot they climbed. They tried to relax the belt around her arm a bit during a break, but there seemed to be more blood going through her wound than to her fingers. She continued to wave their worry off, saying she wouldn't die from a bullet wound to the arm when she'd just discovered her favorite weapon. She'd rather lose her arm instead, and replace it with the chainsaw.

  
When they reached Pine Valley, they all collectively let out a sigh of relief. It was just a matter of half an hour, they told themselves. It was just a matter of this slope, and they would be home. At this point, Zoe was leaning on the cart more than she was pulling it, but they all pretended she wasn't.

  
Somehow, they made it back. They followed the road, and seemingly out of nowhere was the white plastic gate, and the cats. They stopped right in front of it. Zoe leaned heavily against the cart.

  
"In my bag. Front pocket."

  
Coco looked inside, careful not to pull on the zipper too forceful to not upset Zoe's balance. She sighed when she pulled out a walkie-talkie.

  
"Seriously?"

  
"What else was I supposed to do? Leave the damn gate open?"

  
Zoe took the device from Coco and turned it on. She pressed the button.

  
"Madison?"

  
No answer. Coco groaned.

  
"This is how we die. With thousands of seeds at the gate."

  
"Maddie?" Zoe said pleadingly. "I know you can hear me."

  
She looked up at the security camera above the gate.

  
"We brought tons of seeds. We found some supplies. Please let us in."

  
There was a moment of silence, when the wind picked up among the trees, ruffling their needles.

  
"Maddie?"

  
The sun was falling toward the horizon, the moon was but an outline in the sky, and finally, the gate slid open. A collective sigh of relief once again passed over the group. They started pushing the carts forward, and up the road toward the house. Zoe let the walkie-talkie fall carelessly in the cart. Coco let go of the cart to support Zoe.

  
"Almost there, alright? Then Cordelia's gonna take care of you..."

  
"S'alright..." Zoe mumbled. "Maddie can give me her blood... She's a universal donor or something..."

  
As they reached the last slope, the front door opened. What Misty thought would be a small group of girls, maybe even only Cordelia, turned out to be the entire coven, pushing each other to be at the front when they returned. However, unlike with usual scavenging returns, no one rushed forward to help them carry their heavy loads. Instead, they all waited in silence as Cordelia walked out. She came to stand in front of them, and the little group stopped moving altogether. She crossed her arms. She wasn't glaring at them, but there was a coldness in her eyes, something Misty had never seen before, and it made her shiver.

  
"Do you have something to say?" Cordelia asked loudly, to be heard by everyone.

  
"It's not their fault," Mallory replied quickly. "It was my idea."

  
"No, I..." Misty started. She paused when she felt Cordelia's eyes falling on her. She gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm the one who let them make up this plan, it's my fault. I should have stopped them."

  
Everyone waited for Coco and Zoe to say something, but Zoe was slowly sinking into the cold waters of unconsciousness, like the Titanic after hitting the iceberg. Coco cleared her throat and finally said:

"In my defense, I let them rope me into this, but I don't regret it one bit."

  
Silence fell once again over the entire coven. There was a flicker of something in Cordelia's eyes, Misty wasn't sure what. Finally, Cordelia took a step aside.

  
"Get Zoe to her bed, I'll take care of her. This is not over."

  
They nodded, and a few girls rushed forward to help Zoe inside. Like a flock of birds, the girls suddenly dissipated, going back to their occupations, disappearing back into the house. Cordelia was already walking after Zoe, out of her sight before Misty could try to talk to her.

  
"What do we do?" Mallory asked when they finally parked the shopping carts in front of the house.

  
"Let's leave the seeds with Coco, let her inventory everything. We'll take the rest to the greenhouse."

  
She'd barely spoken that a smaller flock of girls returned to them, ready to help.

* * *

The unpacking of the content of the backpacks was a sight to behold. Almost every girl around the house came to stand by the dining table as Coco emptied each bag, creating a massive pile of cardboard envelopes. It was as if they'd returned from a trip into the neighborhood on Halloween night, and were now sorting out their candies. She sighed at the sight, very much tired, but also certain that as long as she did her work Cordelia wouldn't call her to her office. Her two assistants sat beside her, ready to help. The other twenty girls observing was new, but not unenjoyable, as she proudly asked for this and that, and they all hurried to bring it to her. A pencil, a box to place the seeds away, an eraser, another piece of paper.

  
At one point, Cordelia emerged out of the library, her hands stained with blood. She went to the kitchen to clean them when her eyes caught the table. She paused, staring at the pile. Everyone fell silent and stared back at her. Finally, she walked away, leaving everyone unsure of what had just happened.

  
Mallory and Misty joined in once they were done emptying the carts, a gaggle of girls behind them. They were both very impressed by the number of pockets they'd brought back. Misty wanted to tell everyone that they were going to have fun planting them all, but then she realized that she could be replaced as head of the farming team within the hour. She could even find herself back on the road before the end of the day.

  
"How's Zoe?" Mallory asked.

  
Coco shrugged, uncertain. One of the girls replied for her:

  
"Cordelia said she'll be fine. Madison's giving her blood, and Cordelia sutured her wound, so she should be okay."

  
A sigh of relief ran through the entire room.

  
"How is it looking?" Misty asked Coco.

  
"Like we're gonna be eating carrots for the rest of our lives. So all in all, pretty good."

  
Cordelia walked back from the kitchen and went straight to her office. The door rattled as she closed it, and the clack of the lock echoed in the entire floor. Queenie joined the group soon after.

  
"So, good news. You guys are not being kicked out. But you're not getting dinner tonight, and you'll be cleaning all the kids' laundry."

  
Coco sighed longly.

  
"Oh thank God..."

  
Her reaction made most of the girls laugh. Mallory started walking out of the room and Misty followed her.

  
"I had a slot for the shower but I'm assuming that's off the table too," she said as she made her way to the stairs. "I'm still getting out of these sticky clothes."

  
Misty nodded, her eyes gliding off the stairs and falling straight onto Cordelia's office door.

  
"Go on ahead, I'll go talk to Cordelia. Apologize again."

  
Mallory continued up the stairs, and Misty came to stand in front of the door. She took a deep breath. Her knuckles rasped lightly against the slab of wood. She didn't expect an answer, she simply marked a pause to give time for her heart to settle.

  
"It's Misty. I just wanted to apologize."

  
She swallowed, her throat dry, as she struggled to find her words.

  
"I didn't want to go behind your back. None of us did. But we got scared for everyone, and we thought it would be better to just do it and hope for the best. I know it's not an excuse. We should have asked you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you what we were gonna do. I thought you'd talk me out of it, so I didn't tell you. I wanted to, though, I promise."

  
Misty sighed against the door, unsure what else to add.

  
"Again, I'm sorry, Cordelia."

  
She stepped away. She decided to just go to bed straight away. Since she was so tired, and every single one of her muscles ached, and she wasn't getting any dinner anyway, might as well do what she could.

  
The lock clicked hurriedly, and the door opened.

  
"Misty."

  
Misty turned around, finding Cordelia by the door, a hesitant look on her face. She shifted, leaving enough space for Misty to step inside. The door closed behind her, and she was suddenly pinned against it by Cordelia's body. Before she could process what was going on, Cordelia's lips were on hers. She kissed back on instinct. Once her brain finally connected the dots, she kissed her eagerly, threading her fingers through Cordelia's golden hair. Cordelia pulled away for a second, just long enough to say.

  
"I've wanted to do this for so long..."

  
Misty chased her lips, pulling her closer for another kiss. Cordelia's hands trailed along her sides, coming to rest by her waist and sending shivers all over Misty's body.

  
"Then why didn't you let me kiss you last time?" Misty asked in between two kisses.

  
Cordelia pulled away, breathing heavily.

  
"Because I was scared. But I thought I would lose you today and..."

  
"I'm right here," Misty assured. "I'm not going anywhere."

  
She pulled her in for another kiss, softer this time until Cordelia lightly bit Misty's lower lip. It ignited something ancient in Misty's cells, chasing the day's hardships away. Though she was the one pinned to the door, she pushed Cordelia further into the room, taking control. Cordelia hummed into the kiss until the back of her thighs hit the side of her desk. Misty picked her up, seating her on a pile of paper that would surely be creased once they would be done.

  
Cordelia's hand tangled into Misty's hair until she found her neck. There, she began to run her fingers down its length, from Misty's hairline to the junction with her shoulders, relishing in every shiver and whimper that escaped Misty's body. Misty's hands ran up Cordelia's pants, along the exterior of her thighs, until they reached her blouse. Misty really didn't want to part her lips from Cordelia's, but it was the only way to get the other woman's shirt off. Her fingers came to dance on Cordelia's belly, on the warm skin at the edge of her pants, before she got a better hold of the shirt. Understanding Misty's intentions, Cordelia raised her arms to help her remove the garment. Then, before Misty could kiss her again, they heard voices coming from outside the room.

  
They both froze, holding their breath. It occurred to Cordelia that she should have locked the door before so eagerly kissing the taller blonde. They waited. The voices grew. Shouts coming from down the hall. They didn't become closer, simply louder until they reached a point when the walls seemed to rattle from the screams. Finally, Cordelia laughed. Misty wasn't sure why, but she laughed too. Her head fell against Cordelia's shoulder.

  
"I think Zoe is awake..." Cordelia said.

  
A few seconds later, the shouts died down completely. Misty's laughing subsided, as instead, she peppered kisses over Cordelia's exposed skin. Cordelia's laughter turned to light giggles as she asked:

  
"Were you just about to make love to me on the desk?"

  
Misty looked up and blushed, her blue eyes getting lost in Cordelia's autumn brown ones for a second.

  
"Because you know, there's a bed right over there."

  
"Oh."

  
Misty laughed again. Cordelia stopped her laughing fit with a kiss. Then, she moved to press a kiss on the corner of her lips, her cheekbone, her jaw. She whispered, her breath hot in Misty's ear:

  
"Why don't you lock the door first?"

  
She pulled Misty's earlobe between the teeth, tugging lightly and making Misty groan. As soon as she let her go, Misty moved away from the desk to lock the door. She struggled with it for a few seconds, her hands shaking too much to give a decisive turn of the lock. Then, she let out a calming breath, hoping her entire being would stop trembling like a leaf. She turned around. Cordelia was standing by the mattress, discarding her pants. Misty was in shock, truly for the first time understood what being in shock meant, as she could feel the electricity coursing through her muscles.

  
"What?" Cordelia asked with a worried tremble in her voice.

  
Misty shook her head.

  
"Nothin'."

  
She pulled off her tank top and threw it somewhere in the room, before rushing forward, capturing Cordelia's lips into another kiss. Cordelia moaned, her fingers tracing the muscles of Misty's arms. When her knees seemed to buck under her, dizzy with feelings, Misty helped her down on the mattress gently and began kissing her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end (of the slow burn) is here!  
> I love this chapter so much! If you remember back when I was posting "Hanging Odes Upon Hawthorns" there was a day when I was super excited about the writing I'd done the day before. That was that chapter that I was so excited about. I still am. I really don't often write such lengthy makeout sessions, but this one was pretty good.  
> Speaking of excited, this morning I decided to write the "missing scene" of this chapter, aka the shouting match between Madison and Zoe at the end of the chapter. It is really good. But I can't post it until tomorrow because it takes place in part over chapter 12 as well, and I can't spoil that. So tomorrow, after I post chapter 12 I will also post this Zadison bonus. I'll make a series out of this story yet!  
> Anyway, be ready cause the rest of this story is basically a lot of foxxay and nothing else, which I know you guys are going to enjoy, and I will see you tomorrow for the next one!


	12. Thinking Out Loud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A middle-of-the-night conversation

Misty laid down on the mattress, the old springs softening under her head. The cocktail of adrenaline and endorphins pumping through her veins had chased any thoughts of the day or the outside of the room. Cordelia was reclined beside her, her head on the only pillow in the room, trying to calm her heartbeat.

  
The smaller blonde's focus on her breathing was interrupted when she felt Misty's ocean eyes on her. Misty had rolled to the side, her hand supporting her head. She was staring at Cordelia with a grin on her lips.

  
"What?" Cordelia asked as hot blood rose to her cheek once again.

  
"Nothin', I just like looking at you."

  
Cordelia smiled back. She leaned forward, placing a kiss on Misty's lips. Though she wanted to, she didn't dare touch Misty's skin anymore, as if it'd turned so hot that she would burn her hands trying. When she pulled away, Misty tried to chase her lips again, but Cordelia didn't let her.

  
"Here."

  
She sat up and placed the pillow under Misty's head. As Misty reclined against the flattened pillow, Cordelia slotted herself against her side, placing her head on her shoulder. Misty wrapped her arms around her, keeping her close. Her fingers unconsciously began to draw patterns on her arms. A comfortable silence settled between them, but neither of them dared to suggest sliding under the covers and falling asleep.

  
"Why didn't you let me kiss you last time?" Misty asked casually. "Cause we could have been doing this whole thing this entire time."

  
Cordelia's chuckles caressed Misty's collarbone, prompting goosebumps to erupt all over her skin.

  
"It's as I said. I was scared. With all the responsibilities I have here... I've been trying to prioritize the group over me."

  
Misty placed a kiss on top of her head.

  
"I love that you're selfless like that, and how you care so much about others."

  
One of Cordelia's hands found Misty's heart quivering against her ribcage. She felt every regular jump against her palm.

  
"And I've never... It's the first time I have feelings for another woman."

  
Misty frowned and tried to lean forward to see Cordelia's expression.

  
"You'd never...?"

  
"I've been with women before, but it was always physical, never... romantic."

  
Misty felt her entire body relax at the words. She strengthened her hold on Cordelia, hoping to convey reassurance.

  
"I've been alone for a long time too," she confessed. "But I'm glad it's you my heart picked."

  
The butterflies trapped in Cordelia's stomach wouldn't stop fluttering about, making her heart jump out of her chest.

  
"So, what changed?" Misty asked.

  
"I thought I would never see you again," Cordelia said, then she had to clear her throat before she could continue. "As soon as we guessed what you four were up to, I realized how stupid I'd been. You remember what I told you, about how I wake up every morning thinking it might just be the last? This is exactly how it felt. Thinking that I would never see you again, and never get to tell you what I wanted to say. But you came back..."

  
"I came back," Misty assured.

  
For good measure, she placed another kiss on Cordelia's head.

  
"So, did you tell me everything you had to tell me?" she asked with a smile.

  
"Maybe not everything, but I think you got the bulk of it."

  
"I think I did."

  
What was left unsaid would be said eventually, they knew, if not that night then the next one.

  
"When we were out there," Misty started, "the moment those guys went after us, Coco and I hid in the break room. The only thing I could think about was you, and how I should have told you before we left."

  
"Tell me what?" Cordelia prompted gently.

  
"That I wanted to kiss you. That I was doing what I was doing for you, to help you."

  
Cordelia placed a kiss on Misty's shoulder.

  
"Next time, come and ask me first."

  
"I promise. I'll never stop asking you before kissing you, cause I never want to stop kissing you."

  
Cordelia laughed, and soon Misty joined in. Their laughter was cut short when Cordelia pushed herself up and kissed Misty's lips. Misty returned the kiss, the tip of her fingers caressing Cordelia's back. When they pulled away, Cordelia nestled closer, her head in the crook of Misty's neck. Misty smelled of pines, fresh earth, and sunshine.

  
"If mother could see me now," Cordelia said with amusement. "Her favorite holiday mansion turned into a refuge for girls, and her only daughter in the arms of another woman. Actually, that might not have been the worst. I think she would have been far angrier with what we did to her garden."

  
Misty smiled at Cordelia's tone, though she found she lacked any knowledge on Cordelia's mother to truly laugh with her.

  
"What happened to her? Your mother? You've mentioned her a few times but I never really dared to ask."

  
Cordelia sighed as she answered:

  
"She passed away a few years before the bombs. Cancer. She tried paying for the best treatments she could find, but in the end, her money was useless."

  
Cordelia paused, trying to find her words.

  
"We've always had a complicated relationship. She barely ever took care of me, she sent me away to the most expensive boarding schools she could find."

  
Misty passed a hand through Cordelia's hair, giving her the comfort she wasn't sure she needed. Cordelia's voice was emotionless, as she seemed to have made her peace with it.

  
"The only thing she was right about was my husband. This was the only time I should have listened to her."

  
Misty frowned.

  
"You're married?"

  
"Divorced. He's probably dead by now. Don't worry."

  
Cordelia pressed a kiss on the side of Misty's neck, where a hickey was blossoming already.

  
"He was a real idiot. I don't even know how I could have ever had feelings for him."

  
Misty smiled, her hand gliding out of Cordelia's golden locks and back on her arm, where her fingers began tracing mindless patterns again.

  
"When you said that..." she started. "I first I thought you'd kicked him out, like the other guys, in the beginning."

  
Cordelia lifted her head to look at Misty, trying to decipher her expression. Misty gave a vague shrug.

  
"Mallory told me about it when I arrived. I understand. You had a hard choice to make and you made it."

  
Cordelia placed her head back against Misty's shoulders, clinging just a bit closer to her.

  
"I don't regret making it, is it strange to say? Sending all of those people back out to die. To protect the others from the possibility of something happening... Some of these men were kind and helpful, but I treated them all like potential rapists and murderers. Meanwhile, Madison and Zoe are still here."

  
Misty, feeling Cordelia's brain getting agitated in her skull, placed another kiss on the crown of her head.

  
"You did what you thought was the right thing to do. From what I've seen, it paid off. Everyone here is safe and happy thanks to you. And who knows, maybe one day things can change, and we can start admitting men again. Lord knows we'll need all the help we can get clearing some of the trees to make more farming space."

  
Cordelia smiled against her neck.

  
"You have some big plans, I see."

  
"The biggest," Misty replied, before yawning.

  
Cordelia kissed the crook of her neck again.

  
"Well, your big plans can wait until tomorrow. I think it's time we get some sleep."

  
As Cordelia moved away from Misty and tried to pull the blanket over them, Misty sat up.

  
"Hold on, I want to go grab a drink."

  
Cordelia pushed Misty back on the mattress with one hand.

  
"I'll get it," she said as she stood up. "There could still be people out there, I don't want them to see you."

  
Misty frowned, and watch Cordelia put on her pajamas hurriedly.

  
"You don't want people knowing about us?"

  
Cordelia pulled her shirt down and came to kneel beside Misty.

  
"Of course I want people to know about us, just not yet."

  
"Why not?"

  
"Well, first, because I want to keep you all to myself for a bit longer. And second, because I'm supposed to still be mad at you, not sleeping with you."

  
Misty nodded. She kissed Cordelia's cheek quickly before she could move away.

  
"Hurry, I don't want to be without you for too long."

  
Cordelia motioned for Misty to shush, though she was smiling behind her finger. She unlocked the door and looked into the hallway. The lights of the living room were off, meaning that most everyone had gone to bed. She walked out, closing the door to her office behind her. As she crossed the house toward the kitchen, she found a lone figure standing by the sink, under the weak light of the moon.

  
Zoe was leaning against the counter, a glass of water in her good hand, her bandaged arm limp beside her.

  
"You shouldn't be out of bed," Cordelia chastised her as she grabbed a glass of her own and filled it up.

  
"I know," Zoe replied. "But Maddie was asleep and I didn't want to wake her up."

  
Cordelia said nothing, drinking half of the glass before filling it up again.

  
"Don't pull your stitches," she warned.

  
"I won't."

  
"I mean it. Don't come knocking on my door if you start bleeding again."

  
"I won't pull my stitches. How the fuck would I even do that?"

  
"You know how."

  
"Well, I won't. She's still mad at me," Zoe added with an annoyed clicked of the tongue, a habit she'd taken straight from spending too much time with Madison.

  
"She has every reason to be. I'm still mad at you too. It's a good thing you're wounded, it'll give me an excuse to keep you on camera duty until you're fully healed."

  
"Seriously?"

  
"Yes, seriously. Next time you'll think before agreeing to follow a stupid plan."

  
Zoe rolled her eyes but added nothing. She emptied the rest of her glass in the sink, cleaned it up quickly, and placed it on the rack to dry.

  
"It wasn't a stupid plan," she finally said as she walked away. "We saved everyone from starvation."

  
"I know," Cordelia replied. "Thank you."

  
Zoe paused for a second, then continued to walk back to the library. Cordelia waited a few more seconds, then she made her way back to her room. She walked in, locked the door behind her, let out a sigh as a smile formed on her lips. Misty had fallen asleep in the middle of the mattress, their single pillow under her head. Cordelia placed the glass of water on her desk. She pulled off her pajamas, then slid into bed behind Misty, wrapping her arms under her chest. Misty didn't stir, but let herself being pulled closer. Cordelia placed a kiss on Misty's shoulder, then let her head rest against their single pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! When I say more foxxay I mean it!  
> You may have noticed that I put the story into a series, to which I will add the Zadison one-shot I'll post right after so it'll be easier for you guys to find it. I had no idea what to call it so I went with the "Coven Apocalypse AU", if you have a better idea just let me know.  
> Pro-tip for all of you writers out there: music is key. If you want to write some super fluff like in today's chapter, I recommend listening to either "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran or "Say You Won't Let Go" by James Arthur. However if you want to write a makeout session like in the previous chapter, than there's only one answer for you, "Love Me Like You Do" by Ellie Goulding (the only good thing to come out of anything Fifty Shades related I don't make the rules).  
> In other news, my brain is starving, it's been running in circles, grinding like a fork in a garbadge disposal and unable to think of any good ideas for a story. Or coming up with stories that were just paperthin and flimsy as a sandcastle. I wanted to write a sequel to my Zadison High School AU but I can't figure anything out. So I suppose I take prompts?  
> Anyway, as usual, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you tomorrow for the next one!


	13. Gardens and Punishments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The garden expends, the girls suffer through their punishments, and people start to notice that Cordelia is happier than usual

The group's punishment lasted two weeks. Two weeks of taking care of the younger girls, cleaning their clothes, making sure they took their baths, and babysitting them. None of them complained, except Coco, at the very end. In light of all the things they'd brought back, they did not lose their positions as part of the council but were given a warning. As promised, Zoe was put in surveillance duty, seating behind the computer and cycling through the many cameras on the property all day, simply because her arm was still healing.

  
What used to be a small vegetable patch in a corner grew almost out of proportion, as half of the garden was cut into parcels, weeded out and seeded. It was suggested that a few trees at the edge could be cut down to make more space, but after a council meeting, the idea was postponed, on the grounds that it would be extremely dangerous to take a whole tree down all at once, and they did not have the necessary equipment to do it in pieces.

  
The farming team had never been as busy as then. When they weren't taking care of the growing plants, they were making fences to separate everything clearly, and drawing up signs for each plant. Soon enough they began setting up containers to collect the rainwater and used it to water the plants. In a corner, they planted a few flowers, and Coco took an entire afternoon to build her beehive, hoping against all odds that a little colony would come to settle inside.

  
For a few weeks the greenhouse was a mess, and impossible to move through. There were so many pots, so many boxes of seeds, that at one point Misty ended up stuck in a corner of the room, surrounded by rows upon rows of terracotta pots, that took half an hour to be moved around so she could make her way to the door. Slowly but surely, however, space was made, potted plants were moved to the garden, tools were stashed in a corner, and a foldout table was added to put more flowerpots above and under.

  
The scavenging team was first sent to Pine Valley without Mallory and Zoe who were still punished. Once Mallory was free, she began planning a trip up the valley to the ski resort. Since Zoe was still wounded, once of Madison's girls was sent instead, Stacy. Zoe did not appreciate being sidelined, but since there was a good reason for it, she only grumbled a bit. The scavenging team returned in record time, with a large amount of food taken from the resort's kitchens, and the promise of more hidden away.

  
The first harvest after the garden's expansion was at the end of the summer. More would follow, they knew, and for a moment the fear of starvation left everyone's mind. Seeds were kept whenever possible, and placed with the others in zip-logs and empty jars. The food was placed in the pantry, kept for as long as possible to be eaten fresh, then turned to soup, stew, boiled, and, if necessary, pickled.

  
Through it all, everyone noticed that Cordelia seemed much happier. It was as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She smiled more, laughed more. The little stunt the group had pulled, which everyone expected would make her angrier, maybe, even more stressed, had had the opposite effect. Of course, there was no way for most of them to know that the sole responsible for this change was Misty.

  
Mallory began to suspect something when Misty almost stopped sleeping in her bed every night. Sometimes she would come to bed late into the night, in the early hours of the morning. Sometimes she would on the contrary leave it in the middle of the night, never to return. Sometimes she wouldn't show up in their bedroom at all. And while Coco bought the excuse that the plants in the greenhouse needed a lot of surveillance, Mallory knew something was up. She talked about it with Zoe, who talked about it with Madison, who talked about it with Queenie, and the four of them together proved more observant than Cordelia ever expected. Plus, Zoe saw Cordelia and Misty on the surveillance camera, stopping on their way back to the greenhouse to make-out against a tree.

  
"Can we not replay that again?" Queenie asked as the three of them leaned over Zoe's shoulders to stare at the monitor. "Once is enough trauma for me."

  
Zoe paused the replay. Madison straightened and crossed her arms.

  
"See, I told you these two were up to no good."

  
The rest of the group stared at her incredulously.

  
"They're in love," Zoe noted.

  
"They're sneaking around like a bunch of teenagers, big deal."

  
Zoe rolled her eyes and held her tongue.

  
"So, what do we do?" Queenie asked. "Do we tell them that we know? And why do they not want us to know anyway?"

  
Mallory shrugged.

  
"I'm sure they have a good reason not to tell us," she decided. "Let's wait a bit. If they continue to keep it under wraps I'll just go talk to them about it."

  
"It's not going to stay secret for long," Madison replied. "Everyone's gonna figure it out, especially if they continue to disappear together like that."

  
"Are you talking from experience?" Queenie asked.

  
Madison glared at her and walked out.

  
"How the fuck did you ever fall for someone like her?" Queenie then asked Zoe.

  
Zoe was slack-jawed for a moment.

  
"We're not... It's strictly physical."

  
"Of course it is."

  
Queenie walked out of the library. Mallory gave Zoe a shrug and walked out as well, leaving Zoe alone to contemplate her life's choices.

* * *

Cordelia reasoned that if they were two, then they were allowed both of their bath water at once in the tub. Misty saw no fault in that logic. They poured two warm cookers of water in the tub, and Misty sank into the five inches of water, reclining against the tub. Cordelia sat against her, her head resting against Misty's collarbone. Misty passed her wet hands over her arms, making Cordelia shiver.

  
"This needs more candles," Cordelia said as she looked around the bathroom, with a single weak bulb lighting the room. "And foam. I miss bubble-baths. I had some of those bath bombs back home that I never used."

  
Misty pressed a kiss on Cordelia's shoulder.

  
"As long as you're here, it's perfect."

  
Cordelia smiled.

  
"Of course it is," she assured. "I don't need all that fuss, just you."

  
She turned her head around just enough to kiss Misty's lips, then she once again leaned back against Misty. Misty began to press feather-light kisses along Cordelia's shoulders, then up her neck. Cordelia closed her eyes and sighed with pleasure. When the kisses began a bit more insistent, she warned:

  
"Remember, no visible marks. I don't want to have to lie to Marnie again as to why I have a bruise on my neck."

  
Misty laughed against her skin.

  
"Next time tell her you got bitten by a vampire," she joked.

  
"That's a different kind of trauma we should probably avoid."

  
Cordelia sighed.

  
"Seriously, if I had known younger children were so inquisitive..."

  
She didn't finish her sentence, she didn't have to. She'd already told Misty about what had ended her marriage. Misty placed appeasing kissed on Cordelia's shoulder-blades.

  
"So, are we waiting for Marnie to turn eighteen before we tell the others?" she asked.

  
"No, of course not. We'll do it soon, I promise."

  
"Good, because I want to tell everyone how awesome you are."

  
"Don't you do that already?" Cordelia joked. "Don't think I didn't hear you when you talked to the girls in the garden."

  
Misty rested her chin against Cordelia's shoulder.

  
"Well, we all came to the conclusion that you were awesome, as a group. So it's not only me. We all think you are."

  
Cordelia turned her head to kiss the corner of Misty's lips.

  
"Thank you."

  
They both leaned back against the tub, the water growing lukewarm around their legs.

  
"So, I was thinking," Cordelia started.

  
Misty hummed, her fingers dancing up and down Cordelia's forearms. As if to calm her hands, Cordelia took them in their own, entwining their fingers.

  
"How about we organize a party to celebrate the good harvest?"

  
"What did you have in mind?" Misty asked, her warm breath dancing over Cordelia's skin.

  
"Well... there is a single box of candy in the pantry, but we have enough sugar to make some caramel, if necessary. Just, give the girls a little treat, for their hard work. Maybe organize a few games. Music, but not too loudly."

  
"Like a Halloween party?" Misty suggested.

  
"Well, I was thinking of before the end of summer, but we can wait until the fall harvest."

  
Misty placed a kiss at the junction between Cordelia's neck and shoulders, forcing any tension there away.

  
"A fall harvest festival sounds nice. I went to one of those once. We can have some pumpkin carving contest before we turn them into soups. It's too bad we don't have apples though. What kind of other fruits could we try to fish out from a bucket of water?" Misty thought out-loud.

  
"Turnips?" Cordelia suggested, making the other woman giggle.

  
"I don't think the girls would like that."

  
"What else did you imagine we could do?" Cordelia asked, interested by Misty's sudden burst of inspiration.

  
"Well, if it doubles as a Halloween party, we have to replug the TV and watch a scary movie. After the kids are in bed."

  
Cordelia chuckled, then shook her head.

  
"Unfortunately, there are no scary movies here, unless you consider King Kong like a scary movie."

  
"Which version?"

  
"The old one."

  
Misty sighed, but her deception didn't last long.

  
"Okay, change of plan. A contest of scary stories. How about that? Like in Are you Afraid of the Dark?"

  
Cordelia frowned.

  
"What is that?"

  
"You don't know Are You Afraid of the Dark?! I used to love it when I was a kid."

  
"Well, all I can tell you that I was afraid of the dark when I was younger, and I certainly would not be watching horror things."

  
Misty laughed at Cordelia's indignant tone. She kissed her neck, right over her jugular.

  
"Don't worry, I'll be there to protect you."

  
Cordelia's light laugh turned into a moan when Misty lightly bit the spot she'd just kissed, all thoughts of not leaving visible marks gone from either of their minds. Cordelia's hand found its way into Misty's hair.

  
There was a knock on the door. Misty froze while Cordelia glanced at the clock by the wall. Had it already been twenty minutes?

  
"Sorry to bother you," Mallory's voice came through. "But they need your help downstairs, Cordelia."

  
They exchanged a confused glance. Misty was pretty certain she'd reserved the bathroom, not Cordelia.

  
"I think you're confused," she said as loudly as she could. "It's Misty. Cordelia's not here."

  
Cordelia elbowed her ribs lightly, urging her to be more convincing.

  
"I don't know where Cordelia is," she added.

  
"I really wouldn't there if it wasn't important," Mallory replied. "But Hilda slid her finger open, and we don't know if she needs stitches."

  
Cordelia sighed. A single look at Misty told her exactly what she needed to do.

  
"I'll be right there," she replied. "Tell them to apply pressure on the cut, especially if she's bleeding a lot."

  
"Okay. Thank you. Sorry to bother you again."

  
Cordelia stood out of the tub and wrapped a towel around herself. Misty was about to stand up when Cordelia shook her head.

  
"Finish cleaning yourself, at least. Let's not waste all of that water."

  
Cordelia dried herself quickly, though thankfully only the tip of her hair was damp. She put her clothes back on, while Misty sank deeper into the tub, wetting her hair. When she emerged out, her dark blonde locks heavy with water, Cordelia had to physically tear herself away from the image that came to her mind, that of a nymph coming out of a pond. She opened the door carefully, making sure there was no one in the hallway.

  
"Delia?"

  
She turned around, and Misty smiled at her.

  
"We'll have to do this again sometime."

  
Cordelia smiled back, then stepped out of the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this bathtub fluff in five inches of water! When I first planned this scene it didn't occur to me that they wouldn't be in a full tub because of post-apocalyptic water restrictions...  
> Anyway, I hope you guys have a nice weekend and I will see you tomorrow for the next one!


	14. The Harvest Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the arrival of fall, the coven organizes their very first Harvest Festival

_211 days after the end of the world_

  
"I have a zip sweater, this fleece jacket or this... what is that, wool? A wool jacket."

  
From her spot on her bed, Coco held out one hand, the other still flipping through the magazine she'd been reading for the umpteenth time.

  
"Fleece please, I'm not crazy."

  
Mallory rolled her eyes but threw the jacket her way. The gray fleece jacket fell limply on Coco's outstretched arm. She finally looked at it and let out a groan.

  
"Gray? Seriously."

  
"No take-backs," Mallory replied as she turned to Misty, who had paused her walkman to look at her friend. "Which one do you want?"

  
Misty considered both garments. The woolen jacket was big, with a red flannel pattern on it, probably a man's jacket, the type of things one would wear when going hunting. The sweater was burgundy and light. While neither were particularly Misty's style, she feared the sweater would be too small for her.

  
"Can I see the sweater?"

  
She stood up and took the vest from Mallory's hand. While it fitted, the end of the sleeves didn't quite reach her wrists. She pulled it off and handed it back to Mallory.

  
"I guess this one is yours."

  
She picked up the stiff hunting jacket and slid it on. It was warm, and a bit too big for her, but it would have to do.

  
"Can I have a scarf with that?" Coco asked as she put her jacket on.

  
"Cordelia said no for now, not until we've got enough for everyone."

  
"I guess I'll just have to turtle up then."

  
There was a knock on the door and they all turned to see Ashley in a jean jacket standing by the doorway.

  
"We've started to install everything."

  
"Thanks, we'll be right there."

  
Mallory slid the sweater on and zipped it up in one smooth motion.

  
"Here we go."

  
Misty reluctantly zipped the vest. It smelled of burned leaves, an uncomfortable smoky scent. After struggling with the sleeves for a moment, she rolled them up until both of her hands were fully out. She unzipped the jacket when she realized that she wasn't able to move comfortably. Coco stood up from her bed, and the three of them walked down the stairs and into the entrance hall.

  
The mask activity in the living room was already going strong. When most of the younger girls complained that they couldn't dress up for Halloween, a paper mask activity was organized. Outside, pumpkins and pencils were being placed on one of the tables taken from the greenhouse. The pumpkin carving contest was replaced by a drawing-on pumpkins contest because Cordelia didn't want to have to watch over the children with a knife all afternoon.

  
The garden was a rusty shade of copper. The dry grass seemed to have taken an autumn appropriate shade. Even surrounded by evergreens, this felt like a cozy day of fall. The air was cold though the sun was still there, not quite as golden as it used to be. The clouds blanketing the sky were light gray, not warning of rain to come but simply tired of being clean, and incline to have more fun with their shade.

  
A banner was to be hanged over the kitchen door, and Cordelia directed the operation as Zoe and Rose tried to coordinate so the banner would be at equal height.

  
"Zoe, not so high, just a bit... Stop, right there. Rose, lift yours a bit more... Perfect."

  
The banner was secured and Cordelia took a step back. A dozen pieces of papers glued together, on which the girls had written in bold orange letters "Harvest Festival". It was an investment, Cordelia had decided, they could reuse it every year. She looked down just in time to see Coco, Mallory, and Misty walking out, with their 'new' jackets. Misty looked uncomfortable in hers, her frame dwarfed by the garment. She didn't quite fill the shoulders as she should, and the jacket fell to her mid-thighs. Still, the sight of her made Cordelia smile. She approached the group.

  
"Perfect. Coco, can you go help Queenie set up the archery game."

  
Coco followed the direction Cordelia had pointed toward, where wooden targets were being set up against the trees.

  
"Mallory, can you prepare the baseball game in the corner over there?"

  
"Sure thing."

  
Mallory picked up the old books they would be using as bases and went as far away from the archery range as possible. Misty awaited her order but instead, Cordelia's fingers slide over the collar of her jacket.

  
"Nice jacket," she joked. "Do you intend to win the archery contest?"

  
Misty shook her head vigorously.

  
"No way. I don't even know how to hold a bow correctly. I can't believe you actually allowed for an archery contest."

  
Cordelia looped her arm into Misty's as they both looked at the soon to be archery range, as the girls argued over the right height for the targets.

  
"I mean, what else were we supposed to do with all those bows and arrows Mallory found? Plus, it's only for the oldest."

  
Misty looked down at Cordelia. The smaller blonde was wearing a black fleece jacket that fitted her perfectly, to the point that Misty suspected the jacket actually belonged to her.

  
"Don't count on me to win you anything today," Misty said. "I'm just going to sit down by the pumpkins and cheer everyone on."

  
"Not even the tug-of-war?" Cordelia asked. "We could use your arms to help us win," she added as she tried to discreetly feel for Misty's muscles under the jacket.

  
"You guys are gross," Zoe said behind them as she walked down the ladder. "Get a room."

  
Cordelia rolled her eyes. She leaned closer to Misty's ears and whispered:

  
"Don't listen to her, she's just jealous."

  
Misty snickered. Cordelia placed a kiss on Misty's cheek and said:

  
"Think about it, okay?"

  
She walked away, ready to solved whatever dispute was happening at the archery range. Misty watched her go for a moment until Ashley called her name:

  
"Misty? They want to bring another table over but we don't know where to put all of the pots."

  
"I'll be right there."

  
She glanced at Cordelia one last time, then hurried to the greenhouse.

* * *

The first edition of the Harvest Festival was a grand success in everyone's opinion. Cordelia gave a great motivational speech to open the festivities, thanking everyone for their hard work. The younger girls rushed to the pumpkins and Misty had to break up a few fights over colored pencils and drawing space. The older girls, for the most parts, littered hesitantly around the archery range, waiting to give it a shot. Mallory proved to be an exceptional archer by scoring a perfect two hundred points. She later confessed to Misty that it was because she'd had a lot of practice at summer camp, which was basically like cheating, but Misty promised not to say a word about it. Zoe tried to beat her high-score and missed one arrow, which she blamed on her wounded arm even though it was perfectly healed. Madison also failed miserably and glared at anyone who laughed at her.

  
The baseball game lasted most of the afternoon, and everyone agreed that it shouldn't have lasted that long but they decided that the younger girls getting strikes did not count, and so the match lasted an ungodly amount of time. Cordelia almost called an end to it but the girls refused to stop. Everyone who wasn't playing had turned to tabletop games, mostly Monopoly and Clue.

  
When the game of baseball was finally over and Cordelia called for a tug-of-war, the Monopoly crew did not want to pause their games. Between them and a few of the other girls who refused to play, the perfectly four teams of ten players Cordelia had made turned into a jumped mess that needed reorganizing. The sun had disappeared under the trees, only the orange sky lit the garden, and with Coco's help, they managed to quickly reorganize the teams. Misty was put in charge of the yellow team, not because they wore yellow but because it felt less degrading to give the team colors instead of numbers. The yellow team had a few assets but a major flaw, Marnie, who could barely keep her hands on the rope. Still, Misty instructed the little girl to pull as hard as she could, and it was obvious the little girl gave it her all.

  
The first fight was against the red team, Zoe's team. It was a hard fight, but the yellow team took the victory, every member toppling back over another like a pile of dominoes as they pulled the scarf on their side. Once again, Zoe blamed her wound, and once again, Madison was unimpressed by Zoe's performance. Misty was out of breath and starting to sweat in her over-sized jacket. She watched as Mallory and Queenie's blue team faced off against Cordelia's green team. Misty cheered for her lover as loudly as she could. Though the battled raged on for almost five minutes, Cordelia's team pulled through, though not by much. When it was announced that the finale would be between Misty's and Cordelia's team, the entire coven assembled around them. Before the game started, Cordelia leaned over to Misty and said:

  
"Don't you dare let me win."

  
Misty took her for her word and pulled with all the strength she had left. It was a quick victory for the yellow team, even with the greatest handicap of them all. Still, Cordelia was there to pull Misty back up, and stealing a kiss before walking inside.

  
An experimental pumpkin pie was made and cut – with difficulty – into forty pieces. Everyone agreed that it needed eggs and milk, and cinnamon, but since they didn't have any of those things and everyone knew it, the complaints weren't raised too loudly. Soup was made for dinner. A single piece of candy was given to everyone once they'd finished their meal. The younger ones were put to bed with a story, and the much anticipated scary stories contest was prepared. It was a pajamas only event, so everyone scrambled to their bedroom to change.

  
Misty, who helped bring the tables back into the greenhouse after dinner, was the last to make it to her bedroom. She was more than happy to take the jacket off. She knocked on the door just in case the girls were changing. Mallory opened and let Misty in. She waited by the door, a hand on the handle, for Coco to finish brushing her hair. Then, once they were both ready, Mallory stood in front of Misty, who was seating on the mattress and pulling off her shoes.

  
"Sorry, Misty, but this is for your own good."

  
"What?"

  
"Coco and I, we talked it over, and we're tired to be woken up every time you come back into the room at night. So we're kicking you out of the room. Take your pillow and go."

  
There was no negativity in her voice, it was very matter-of-fact as if they were just business partners whose merger hadn't worked out.

  
"What? But... Where do I go?"

  
"I don't know, Misty," Coco replied. "But deep down in your heart, you already know."

  
They both walked out, closing the door behind them. Misty stood still for a second, trying to assimilate the information. Did her roommates just kick her out of her room to force her to move into Cordelia's room? Well, that was just mean, what if Cordelia didn't want her there? She changed into her pajamas quickly after that, still the same oversized tee-shirt and undersized pants. Then, she picked up her bag and her pillow and made her way down. She found Cordelia coming out of her room. Cordelia frowned when she saw Misty with her pillow in her hand.

  
"What's going on?"

  
"Mallory and Coco kicked me out of the room. I think they want to force me into yours, but I don't..."

  
Misty bit her lower lip, uncertain of how to ask. Fortunately, Cordelia understood instantly.

  
"Of course you can move into my room, Misty. I mean, it's practically yours already."

  
Misty gave a grateful smile and pressed a kiss on Cordelia's cheek on her way in. She left her bag in a corner, placed her pillow on the mattress, and walked back out. Through the doorway of the living room, Cordelia could see Mallory and Coco high-fiving. She rolled her eyes. Misty closed the door behind her and hand in hand they made their way to the living room.

  
"That was very immature of you two," Cordelia commented as they walked past the pair.

  
"More immature than pretending you're not sharing the same bed every night for the past, I don't know, two months?" Coco replied.

* * *

"...And as it turned out, the scientists had died centuries ago, and they were brains in floating jars this entire time!"

  
Queenie interrupted Rose's story with a raise of the hand.

  
"I don't follow. Are they in a mountain or a crater?"

  
Rose frowned, and tried to reexplain:

  
"It was a mountain, but then there was an accident and it blew up, so now it's a crater."

  
"Yeah but why though?" Stacy asked. "Wouldn't it be easier to just say it's a crater, and skip the mountain part already?"

  
"Mountain is in the name of the damn place," Rose replied, annoyed. "I can't just gloss over it."

  
"It's not worth the stupid play on words," Madison declared. "Trust me."

  
While Rose was still struggling to get back to her story, Cordelia glanced at the clock and found it was already late enough as it were and they should all go to bed.

  
"Rose, just finish your story and then we'll call it a day," she decided.

  
Rose shook her head.

  
"I don't want to anymore, you all just annoyed the fuck out of me with your stupid questions."

  
She grumbled off the stage and back into her chair, crossing her arms. Cordelia stood up from her position on the ground, Misty's arms falling off of her waist.

  
"Alright then let's get to bed, everyone."

  
"Wait! Who won the contest?" Dinah asked.

  
Cordelia tried to stiffen a yawn as she thought.

  
"Let's make our vote tomorrow, alright? The best story will probably be the one you remember the most."

  
Since it was obvious that Cordelia was tired and in no mood to deal with a vote right now, they all agreed. Everyone climbed up the stairs to their respective rooms, as a symphony of 'Goodnights', echoed around the house. Misty stretched her arms and stood up. She watched with a strange apprehension as Cordelia went into her bedroom and left the door open behind her. Their bedroom now. Misty followed as quickly as her tired legs allowed, and closed the door behind her. Cordelia was already pulling the sheets aside to slip into bed. Misty tried to dismiss the tight ball of nerve in her chest. They'd slept in the same bed together before, even throughout the entire night. But this was different. This was the closest to moving together they would ever get.

  
"Are you going to stand there all night?" Cordelia asked jokingly.

  
Misty smiled and made her way to the other side of the bed. She slid in, facing Cordelia.

  
"Hi."

  
"Hey. We have two pillows now," Misty couldn't help but comment on.

  
Cordelia laughed, then slid forward to wrap Misty into a hug. Misty hugged her back, her hands sliding under her pajama shirt and making Cordelia shiver.

  
"How are your hands so cold?"

  
"It's October," Misty replied as if it excused everything.

  
They fell into a comfortable silence. Misty thought this would be the end of their conversation for the day, and she realized she didn't want the last thing she said to be 'It's October'. So before Cordelia could fall asleep, she said:

  
"I love you."

  
Cordelia's heart skipped a beat. She moved away just enough to kiss Misty's lips, gently. She pulled away and said:

  
"I love you too."

  
She nested against Misty's chest once again and closed her eyes. Misty smiled, leaned her head closer to Cordelia's, and let sleep wash over her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> I twisted my ankle yesterday by going outside, so, you know, I'm never going outside again. It's not too bad, it barely hurts anymore and I'm certainly not going to the hospital for it. Thankfully I don't need my ankle to post chapters!  
> Anyway, I hope you have a nice Sunday and I'll see you tomorrow for the next one!


	15. Coming Winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The coven make their final preparations for winter

_231 days after the end of the world_

  
It took four days to isolate and cover up the fields, in preparation for the coming winter. Every night Misty would wake up in a cold sweat and hurry to the window, to make sure it wasn't snowing yet. Then, she would be too stressed out to fall asleep again, and it was up to Cordelia to soothe her back to sleep. But they managed it on time, wrapping each plant carefully in miles of protective sheets, and finally stretching the tarpaulins on top, as extra protection against the snow. The girls were now nailing the tarpaulins to the ground using camping equipment. Misty looked on with satisfaction. The sky was gray and the air was white. It would be snowing soon. The biting cold wind passed over the garden, shaking the tarpaulins. They held on, pinned to the ground. They were ready for winter, Misty decided. And who gave a hammer to Marnie?

  
Misty rushed over as the little girl took way too big of a run-up, bringing the hammer high above her head, and getting prepared to drop it onto the metal peg.

  
"Marnie!"

  
The little girl looked up, letting the hammer fall by her side.

  
"Just give it little taps, okay? Gentle little taps."

  
Marnie nodded and crouched closer to the peg. With her tongue trapped between her lips, she gave a not so gentle tap of the hammer on the peg's head, sinking it forcefully to the ground. She then looked up at Misty for approval. Misty smiled.

  
"Yeah, like that."

  
Marnie gave another useless tap before standing up.

  
"Why don't you go play with the others?" Misty suggested as she easily took the hammer out of Marnie's hand. "You've done enough for today, good work."

  
Marnie smiled and rushed back into the house. Misty let out a breath of relief at the averted crisis and handed the hammer to Ashley, who was bringing the unused tarpaulins back to the garage.

  
With a job well done, the farming team returned inside, and Misty was all-too-happy to get rid of her stiff jacket. She still wore it because she had no other choice, but she always took it off almost as soon as she was inside, even if the door was still open and the cold air bit her shoulders. She walked back to her room, knocking promptly on the door before opening it.

  
Cordelia was hunched over her desk, a few pieces of paper scattered in front of her. She looked up and smiled when she saw Misty come in, but returned promptly to her problem soon after. Misty draped her jacket over one of the armchairs and came to stand over Cordelia. It was a schedule of the coven's meals for the entire winter, from the following week to early March, when hopefully the snow would be gone and the garden could be reopened.

  
"We're gonna run out," Cordelia said. "If we can't do enough supply run, or if they don't bring back enough..."

  
"I'm sure you're worryin' over nothing..." Misty said as she placed both of her hands on Cordelia's shoulders and began massaging the tense muscles there.

  
Cordelia leaned back with a sigh.

  
"We can't keep three meals a day for the entire winter, not without running out with what we have."

  
Misty looked over Cordelia's shoulder to look at the many lists and schedules spread all over the desk.

  
"With all of our supplies, how long can we last right now? With three meals a day?"

  
Cordelia sighed again, though Misty wasn't sure whether it was from exasperation or the massage.

  
"Until mid-February."

  
"Then it's fine," Misty promised, then she placed a kiss on Cordelia's cheek. "With the food the girls will be bringing back from the resort today, it'll be no problem."

  
There was a knock on the door, and neither of them moved as Coco walked in. She paused by the door, surprised to have interrupted them in whatever they were doing.

  
"I would say get a room but... Anyway, Mallory called. They're bringing back the first load, but they're going to have to go back. She said she'll explain everything once she's there."

  
Cordelia and Misty exchanged a confused glance. Misty stepped away to let the older blonde stand up, and the three of them made their way to the front door.

* * *

To everyone's surprise, they were not six, but four. Mallory's entire scavenging team, and Rose. Zoe and Luna were nowhere to be seen. One of the shopping carts was filled with canned food, dry products not yet passed sell-by date, and a few that were. Bags of flours, sugar, and powdered milk, probably things used to bake cakes at the resort's restaurant. The other cart was fulled of clothes, warm sweaters, pairs of socks and gloves, but also books, magazines, DVDs stolen from who knows where. When the group reached the front door, under the confused and worried looks of Cordelia, Misty, and Coco, Mallory pulled the backpack off of her shoulders and began to explain:

  
"Everything is fine. Zoe and Luna had to stay behind to keep the stag we killed."

  
"What?"

  
The scavenging team began to bring everything inside, and when a few girls saw that they had returned, they came to help as well.

  
"There was a group of deers up there. They came back. Zoe shot one. We wanted to bring back more but they ran away. We wanted to bring it back but we don't have anything to carry the meat, and we didn't want to drag blood back here. So I had an idea."

  
"Wait, hold on," Cordelia intervened. "You killed a stag?"

  
"Ideally next time we take the bows and maybe kill a few more," Mallory replied. "But yeah, we have fresh meat. Almost. Anyway, I need a tarpaulin and duct tape."

* * *

The shopping carts were emptied and isolated, and Mallory and Rose returned up the mountain. The idea was to cut the stag in pieces – which was why Mallory took one of the saws with her – and bring them back here so they could be roasted or turned to stew. When the group came back, they were all stained with blood, but at least they didn't track any back. Four legs lay in one cart, and an entire torso in the other. Most everyone was at least a bit disgusted by the sight of it.

  
As it turned out, improvising yourself a butcher was far more difficult than it seemed. It took hours for the four of them to skin the whole deer, and not in a practical way either, as none of the pelts could be used to make anything out of. The torso was gutted – making half of the group vomit from the smell alone – and put on an improvised spike above a fire to roast. The meat from the legs was cut off the bone and diced to be put into a stew. It was long into the night when the torso was done cooking. With the help of headlamps they cut all the meat they could off of it, put it all in half a dozen plates. Exhausted, the team left the plates on the kitchen counter and went to bed. Zoe was forced to sleep on the couch by Madison because she smelled too bad.

  
This one deer gave the coven six additional meals. The burned carcass was buried in a corner of the garden, most probably with the unfortunate intruders, and a council meeting was called.

  
"Should we beginning hunting?" Cordelia asked. "The deer Zoe and Mallory's teams brought back allowed us to spare our resources for three more days. If we can spare two to three days of resources for every deer they bring back, we will have no trouble making it to spring."

  
"Then why are we even having this meeting if the answer is yes?" Madison asked with annoyance as if she had better things to do.

  
"Because it is dangerous, first," Cordelia replied. "Between the time it takes to butcher the deer, the blood track we need to avoid on the way back, skinning it and then the fire to roast it. We also need to agree on the maximum number of deer we should kill. We don't want to exhaust that resource right after finding it."

  
"I think it's worth the risk," Queenie said. "Seriously, if we have to send a few more girls outside to help just in case, we should go for it."

  
"You want to send my girls out there?" Madison snarled back. "What's the fucking point of having food if we all die here."

  
"There hasn't been any intrusion since Misty arrived! That was six months ago."

  
"Oh yeah, are you sure?"

  
"Are you serious right now?"

  
Cordelia put an end to the argument with a look. She turned to Madison and asked:

  
"Why do you think hunting is not a good idea?"

  
Madison did not answer immediately, only after a few seconds of thinking:

  
"Well, I don't know, maybe because of the fucking smell of blood and smocked meat, or the fact that it would be so fucking easy for someone to kill everyone while they're cutting a stupid deer to pieces. Or maybe because I don't want to share my bed with someone who smells like death."

  
Zoe jumped out of her seat beside Madison.

  
"You are unbelievable, you know that? Still thinking about yourself instead of the group."

  
She turned to the rest of the council and said:

  
"I vote we go hunting, everything else you decide I agree with."

  
She looked back to Madison and said:

  
"If it's the fucking smell that bothers you so much then you can keep the room, I'll be moving to Mallory and Coco's room."

She walked out and slammed the door behind her, leaving the entire council stunned.

  
"Girl, how long are you gonna stay mad at her for the trip to the garden shop?" Queenie asked.

  
Madison didn't reply, simply crossed her arms and sank deeper into the couch. Cordelia decided to brush the matter aside and focus on the task at hand.

  
"Mallory, do you think that with three more girls from the security team accompanying you it should be safe?"

  
"I think so. I mean, we haven't seen anyone since..." She glanced at Coco and Misty. "But better safe than sorry. If it's possible, we should take the best archers we have. Do we still have the results of the archery contest?"

  
"I should have them somewhere," Cordelia agreed. "Now rests the question of how many do we hunt. Do we hunt another one every time we've finished the one before, or do we keep to one every few weeks?"

  
Mallory was thoughtful. Then, she decided:

  
"We should be careful. Right now they should be in mating season, and the fawns won't be born until spring. The group we saw up in the resort had about twenty members. Until spring at least we should only try to haunt males, but they'll be pretty violent..."

  
The others stared at her as she rambled on, her old days as a biology student coming back to her like a runaway train. She snapped out of her thoughts and decided:

  
"Let's try for one every month. I know it's not a lot, but we can better prepare for it next year."

  
Cordelia nodded.

  
"Whoever votes for hunting a deer every month raise your hand."

  
The whole council agreed, even, to everyone's surprise, Madison.

  
"Then it's decided."

  
Madison had barely waited until Cordelia was done talking to push herself off the couch and walk away. The entire council watched her go and waited until she'd slammed the door to stand up.

  
"I swear these two..." Queenie said as she shook her head.

  
"We should lock them in a room until they're done," Coco suggested.

  
"And risk that they strangle each other?" Queenie replied.

  
Mallory, who remembered fairly well that time Zoe had strangled a man twice her size in front of her, could only nod.

  
"We just have to wait and let them figure things out," Cordelia decided.

  
Misty placed a hand on Cordelia's shoulder and said:

  
"I'm so glad we're not like that..." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! After disgracing my farmer ancestors, now I disgrace my hunter ancestors (which are the same ancestors for the most part). Maybe I should think harder about what I write down when I plan a story, because 'the coven starts hunting' did not prepare me for what I later realized was the aftermath of the hunt, which is a lot harder to do for someone with no skills in that domain than it is in video games...  
> Anyway, my ankle is much better, barely a lingering pain, so don't worry about it.  
> This morning when I woke up my brain told me "You have to write a Zadison Buzzfeed Unsolved AU"and I said "Okay", so that's what I'm doing right now. It's more of a paranormal investigator AU, but you get the gist. I think it'll be three chapters long, and maybe I'll start posting it sometime this week, we'll see.  
> As usual, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you tomorrow for the next one. Spoiler, it's a Christmas episode...


	16. Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas time for the coven!

Cordelia struggled for days to find how to explain to the short percentage of girls who still believed in Santa Claus that yes, he would be coming this year, and yes, they could make a list but not to expect everything on the list to be there. She just didn't want to break their dreams, while also being incapable to explain to Marnie why she couldn't have the doll she wanted. A trip to the toy store down into the valley had required almost as many girls as hunting usually did, just in case. The day of Christmas was thoroughly planned in advance. However, no decoration could be fished out of the garage, as Cordelia's mother had been as excited about Christmas as she'd been to have a child. Paper ornaments and tinsels were made, painted pine cones and yarn strings were used to decorate the lone pine outside. Even with the ladder, they couldn't reach the top to put the star, so it was hung precariously over the highest branches they could reach.

  
When Misty woke up on Christmas morning, she shivered and pulled the covers closer to her. The way the first few rays of the sun passing through the frozen windows told her exactly what she needed to know. It had snowed during the night. It wasn't the first flurry they'd had. A hunting party had to be delayed earlier in the month because of a blizzard. Every time her chest panged a little with fear for her plants, but every time Cordelia found a way to reassure her.

  
Misty bundled closer to her lover, who wrapped her warm arms more tightly around her. Cordelia's eyes fluttered open.

  
"What time is it?" she mumbled.

  
"Don't know..." Misty whispered back as she closed her eyes again and rested her forehead against Cordelia's shoulder.

  
As they struggled between consciousness and sleep, they heard a commotion coming from outside. Little voices whispering excitedly to each other, while someone shushed them regularly.

  
"The girls are up," Cordelia noted.

  
"Don't care... sleep..."

  
Cordelia was torn between ignoring them and trying to get them back to their bedroom, they suddenly heard a door opening.

  
"It's seven in the morning, what are you doing out of bed!"

  
Madison's seething voice echoed in the entire staircase. The whispered died down immediately. A few seconds later, Zoe's calmer, if sleepier voice could be heard as she tried to shoo the girls back in the basement.

  
"Come on, girls, you heard Maddie. Everyone's still asleep, and if you wake them up they'll all get mad. I know you're excited, but you have to wait down there, okay?"

  
The basement door was closed, Zoe sighed then walked back to the library. Misty let sleep wash over her once again, and soon enough her breathing smoothed to a slow, regular rhythm. Cordelia tried to fall back asleep, but she found that she couldn't. She started to worry about what Misty would think of her Christmas gift, and whether she would like it. She looked down at the younger blonde in her arms and began threading her fingers through her messy hair, careful not to pull on any knots.

  
Half an hour later the girls downstairs tried to peak back out, but this time Cordelia decided to intervene. She tried to shift away from Misty, but it woke her lover up. Misty's hold on her strengthened as she whined awake. Cordelia placed a kiss on her head and said:

  
"Go back to sleep, baby, I'll just take care of the girls."

  
"Don't leave..." Misty complained.

  
"I'll be right back."

  
She managed to make it out of Misty's hold and put her pajamas back on. She slipped out of her room, quietly closing the door behind her. She found the small group of girls huddling about the living room, where all the presents had been left. The scavenging team had brought back every single roll of wrapping paper they could get their hands on. Each gift had been carefully wrapped and labeled and placed about the living room the previous night by the council. The young girls were jumping from pile to pile, looking for the one containing their gifts, and trying to guess what was inside once they'd found them.

  
"Girls, I thought Zoe told you to go back to bed," she said as she entered the living room.

  
She shivered and crossed her arms. She should have put on a sweater before leaving her room. And a pair of socks.

  
"But Cordelia..." Wendy began.

  
"No buts. Do you want Santa Claus to come back and takes your gifts away? Remember, I know how to get to him, I'm sure he'll understand that you guys are not being good and don't deserve your presents."

  
Terrified by the threat of Santa Claus, the girls rushed back down to the basement. Cordelia heard the stairs creaking behind her and found Mallory zipping her sweater up as she made her way down.

  
"I'll keep them busy until eight," she proposed.

  
"Thank you."

  
Mallory followed the group down and asked who wanted to hear a story. Cordelia let out a sigh and returned to her bedroom. She fell back into bed with Misty, letting the younger blonde draw her in and cuddle against her.

  
"That is the most mom thing I've ever hear you say," Misty whispered in her ear with a smile.

  
Cordelia placed a kiss on Misty's neck and closed her eyes, hoping for a few more minutes of sleep.

* * *

Those who hadn't woken up by eight definitely were after the girls began screaming with excitement, tearing the paper off of their presents, and running around to show it to everyone. Misty didn't have a lot of gifts. A few drawings from the younger girls who'd made drawings for the entire coven. She received a straw hat on the behalf of the farming team, so she wouldn't catch sunburns while working in the garden in the coming summer. Mallory and Coco gave her an old gardening magazine. If she thought for a second that these were the only things she would get, Cordelia was quick to prove her wrong, as she approached her with a small gift, wrapped in a piece of old newspaper.

  
"We ran out of wrapping paper," Cordelia said sheepishly as she handed the gift.

  
Misty took it and unwrapped it carefully. She pulled a necklace out of it, an old thin metal chain. Cordelia's favorite ring was attached to it.

  
"Since you always lose all your rings," Cordelia tried to explain. "I thought..."

  
Misty shut her with a kiss.

  
"Thank you. I love it."

  
Cordelia helped her pass her new necklace, then Misty kissed her again.

  
"Thank you. I have a gift for you too, but it's in the greenhouse. God, I hope it's not dead..."

  
"You got me a plant?"

  
"Kinda."

  
Seeing as everyone was busy trying to calm the younger girls, the couple slipped out to get dressed. Misty forced her recently acquired woolen sweater passed her head and pulled all of her necklaces out of the collar. She put on the fuzzy socks Cordelia insisted she get for her cold feet and put on her shoes. She picked up her hunting jacket, her scarf and woolen hat, but waited until she was standing by the kitchen door to put them on.

  
She'd been right on the nose. Seven inches of snow now covered the entire garden, the branches of the pines, and the vegetable patch. Only the fences around it made sure that no one would accidentally step on it while walking through the snow.

  
Cordelia joined her soon after, all wrapped up in her thick ski jacket, scarf, hat, and gloves. She rolled her eyes when she saw that Misty wasn't wearing gloves, and took her hand in hers protectively. Together they threaded carefully through the garden, each step they took sinking into the snow. They made it to the greenhouse with red faces and cold noses. A thick slab of snow covered the roof, blocking any access to the light the plants may get. The walls had frozen over during the night. Misty made Cordelia wait by the door while she got a shovel and carefully got the snow off the roof.

  
"Sorry 'bout that," she said once she was done. "Can't have the babies dying on my watch."

  
Cordelia smiled at Misty's term of endearment for her plants. She led her inside the greenhouse. The air was cool inside, but not too crisp. Most of the plants were hidden under a protective sheet anyway, just in case. It was from under one of those that Misty pulled her gift out. A flowerpot with a neat bow wrapped around it, and a small cluster of sunflowers growing brightly inside.

  
"It's not the one you made," Misty confessed. "Those guys died a while back. It's their children. I took the seeds from the first ones and grew these guys. I thought it would put a bit of color in the house while..."

  
Cordelia stopped Misty's rambling with a kiss. Misty quickly put the pot on the nearest table before pulling Cordelia closer and kissing her back.

  
"I remember the sunflowers," Cordelia said breathlessly as she pulled away. "The biggest mistake of my life."

  
"Well, I know exactly how you can make up for it."

  
"I think I know too."

  
She leaned in again, pulling Misty by the collar of her jacket to kiss her chapped lips passionately.

* * *

After a friendly snowball fight turned into an all-out war, most of the coven was drenched in snow from head to toes, and piles of blankets were laid out in the living room to warm up. Finally, at the sight of thirty shivering girls, Cordelia caved in and turned the chimney on. Forty hot chocolates were made especially for the afternoon, using powdered chocolate, powdered milk, and melted snow. Most of the young girls played around the living room with their new toys, while the older ones retreated to their respective bedrooms after having finished the hot chocolate. Cordelia and Misty bundled together on the armchair to watch over the kids.

  
"I think this is the best Christmas I've celebrated in a while," Misty decided.

  
"What do you usually do on Christmas?" Cordelia asked, her arms wrapped around Misty under the blanket, relishing in their shared warmth.

  
"Nothin' really. I was alone most of the time. Sometimes I did something special, like buy a tiny cake just for me. Not much else."

  
Cordelia placed a kiss on Misty's cheekbone.

  
"I'm sorry. No one should be alone on Christmas."

  
"Well, I'm not alone anymore," Misty assured before kissing Cordelia back. "What about you? What did you do for Christmas?"

  
"Let's see," Cordelia began, and Misty instantly knew the answer would be a sad one. "At first I used to celebrate with my mother but as you know, she's not the best to be around on Christmas day. Or during the entire winter period in general. Then, it was just me and my ex. Barely better. He had all those 'work emergencies' that I now know was just an excuse to ditch me to go... be with someone else," she stopped herself from cursing, aware of the sensitive ears not too far. "After we finally divorced, I started spending it with Myrtle."

  
Misty frowned.

  
"You've never told me about Myrtle."

  
A sad smile passed over Cordelia's lips.

  
"She was one of my mother's childhood friend. Enemy? Sometimes I think even they weren't sure anymore. She took care of me a lot when I was young, a lot more than my mother ever did. She was like a mother to me. A bit eccentric sometimes but so kind and generous, and she always knew how to make me feel better."

  
Misty smiled, listening carefully to every word Cordelia spoke.

  
"She sounds amazing."

  
"She was. I spent last Christmas with her. I can't believe..."

  
Misty's smile faded as she wrapped Cordelia just a bit closer.

  
"Did she die when..."

  
"Not that I know of. I asked her to come here with me but she said she had somewhere else to be. Maybe she's still out there, in some expensive bunker for rich people."

  
The idea made Cordelia laugh.

  
"I wouldn't put it past her."

  
Misty placed a kiss on Cordelia's temple.

  
"I'm sorry."

  
"It's okay. I think she would have liked it here. She certainly would have loved what we did to Fiona's house. And I know she would have liked you a lot."

  
Cordelia nestled against Misty's neck, letting out a long sigh. The fire crackled in the fireplace, and warmth spread out of Misty's heart and in every cell of her body. Decidedly the best Christmas of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know the 28th of April is decidely not a perfect time for a Christmas chapter, but whatever!  
> I wanted to mention Myrtle sooner in the story, but I couldn't find an organic way to introduce her. And I do like to imagine that Myrtle is somewhere safe in a rich people's bunker that is decidedly nothing like Outpost 3, living out the rest of her days playing her theremin.  
> As I mentioned yesterday, I wrote a Zadison paranormal investigator AU. It's three chapters long and I will posting the first one this afternoon. So if you interested, it's going to be called "Stand By Me" (like the song, very original, I know). It's about Zoe being a paranormal investigator with a YouTube Channel going to investigate Miss Robichaux, and Madison happens to be a ghost there.  
> I hope you enjoyed this Christmas chapter! Tomorrow will begin the last arc of the story, if you can call it that, so I'll see you then!


	17. The Thief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone has been stealing from the coven and Madison will not let that crime go unpunished.

_355 days after the end of the world_

  
The peaceful forest of evergreens was suddenly disrupted by a stampede. A dozen young women raced between the trees, trampling the hard dirt under their feet. They brushed past young saplings and burgeoning bushes. As they spread between the trunks, growing further and further apart, shouts began to echo from one side of the property to the other.

  
"Clear!"

  
"Clear!"

  
"Nothing!"

  
Madison came to a stop at the edge of the property. The old stone wall lay undisturbed, young strands of ivy climbing for a few inches with no sign of having been torn off. Bringing her gun up, she did a quick sweep of the zone but saw no one. Carefully, she boosted herself over the side of the wall, feeling the stems of the ivy ripping off the stones under her feet. The road was clear, and so was the forest beyond. She jumped back down. She looked up at the camera attached to the tree above her. The flickering red dot had returned. She picked up the walkie-talkie from her belt and said:

  
"They're still there. Find me that fucking thief, now."

  
She walked back to the garden, jumping at every snap of a twig. She checked every bush on her way back and made sure every camera was still active. Around her, she could see the rest of her team searching the grounds. She emerged out of the woods with an annoyed huff and strode straight for the house.

  
The garden was under construction, again, as Misty and the farming team were expanding even more. A plan to cut down some of the trees using climbing equipment was in preparation, but for now, there was still enough space in the garden proper to add a few rows of lettuces without having to cut down hundred-foot trees. Misty straightened up and let her hoe rest in the dirt as she watched Madison walk back to the house. She pushed back a few locks of her then readjusted her straw hat on top of her head.

  
"What just happened?" she asked, as more members of the farming team stopped what they were doing to listen.

  
"Get back to your fucking salads," Madison replied without missing a beat.

  
Anyone remotely in her way hurriedly stepped aside as she walked into the house and went directly to the library. She slammed the door behind her.

  
"You better tell me you find her."

  
"Who says it's a girl?" Zoe replied from behind the computer.

  
"I saw long hair, it has to be a girl."

  
Zoe rolled her eyes but said nothing. She was juggling through every camera feed, observing as the rest of the security team searched through every bush and tree. Madison leaned over her to look at the computer screens.

  
"Do you think it's one of us?" Zoe asked.

  
"I don't care who it is, I just want to catch the little shit."

  
Zoe pulled out the security feed from the camera by the wall. They both watched as a vague gray figure pocked their head over the wall. The next second, something bright was pointed directly to the camera, and it was momentarily turned off. When it turned back on, Madison was making her way back down the wall.

  
"Is that a fucking laser pointer?"

* * *

An emergency council meeting was called out, and Madison explained – and mostly shouted – the situation.

  
"We have a fucking thief! She's been coming over the wall and blinding our cameras, and somehow making her way in and out of the house without being seen! Now I don't care which one is to blame but we have to stop her."

  
"Blame yourself, you're in charge of security," Queenie replied, earning her a furious glare.

  
"Can someone please explain clearly what is going on?" Cordelia asked.

  
Coco raised her hand then leaned back in her seat and began to explain:

  
"Last week while inventorying I noticed we were three crackers short. I didn't think it was a problem, but then this week we were short one tomato and two pieces of jerky. And since we never eat that jerky, I thought for sure someone was stealing from the pantry. I was just about to try and snoop around when the manhunt began."

  
"And you never thought about telling us?" Madison shouted back.

  
"Jesus Christ, it's a handful of crackers and some jerky, we're not going to starve because of it! I was waiting to find more proof to tell Cordelia about it. No reason to start accusing people of theft when it might just be a bunch of rats."

  
"Well it's not a bunch of rats, so congratulations, at least we know that."

  
Before another argument could rise, Cordelia intervened:

  
"What happened with the cameras?"

  
Since Madison seemed still too angry to answer, Zoe explained instead:

  
"It's been going on for a few days, but we only noticed yesterday. Someone has been using a laser pointer to deactivate the cameras."

  
"Is that even possible?" Queenie asked.

  
"We checked the instruction manual and they do warn that flashing a bright light for too long in the camera's lens may cause it to shut down temporarily."

  
Half of the group collectively sigh.

  
"Of course Fiona would have the cheapest junk..." Cordelia said to herself. "How long has this been going on, exactly?"

  
"Ten days, but only three times. Every few days."

  
Cordelia nodded.

  
"Did you get a good at her?"

  
"Not really. Long hair, pretty small."

  
"I don't think it's one of ours," Mallory reasoned. "There would be no reason for her to run back and forth. It's someone on the outside. Probably alone, or else she would be stealing more food."

  
Cordelia nodded.

  
"That's what I was thinking too."

  
"For a moment," Zoe started, "I thought it was Nan. But that would make no sense."

  
As everyone began to discuss whether it could be Nan or not, Misty lifted her hand.

  
"I'm sorry, but who's Nan?"

  
"She stayed with us at the beginning," Cordelia explained. "She left when we forced all the men out, with a young man she'd met here, Luke. But if it were her I doubt she'd been running around the back like that."

  
"Yeah, she'd probably be knocking on the goddamn gate until we opened," Madison agreed.

  
Silence fell around the library as everyone contemplated the situation.

  
"So, what do we do?" Coco finally asked.

  
"Let's double the watch for now," Cordelia decided. "Have someone stay in front of the pantry. She only comes during the day, right?"

  
"Yes, and surprisingly no one has ever seen her," Madison replied.

  
"Let's try to catch her. It could be a young woman in need of help."

  
Madison gave Cordelia a look, and Cordelia added:

  
"And if it turns out to be a terrible vermin, I'll let you have your way."

  
This seemed to satisfy Madison, who stood up and went back to work.

* * *

Cordelia was leaned back in her chair, thinking, when a knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts. Misty walked in with a small apologetic smile on her lips, as if she knew she'd disrupted Cordelia's train of thoughts.

  
"We're done in the garden, I was gonna spend a bit of time in the greenhouse. Also, Madison wanted me to let you know that a few of the girls were getting ready for an all-nighter."

  
Cordelia nodded, then sighed.

  
"It's like a cycle. Every time we fix something, and things just seem to be going great, something new throws a wrench in the machine."

  
Misty placed her hands on either side of Cordelia's arms and kissed the crown of her head.

  
"I have complete confidence that whatever wrench gets thrown around, you'll find a way to make it better."

  
Misty stepped away to search through her things by the side of the mattress.

  
"I think you put way too much trust in me," Cordelia replied.

  
"Well, you haven't ever disappointed me so far, so I have no reason not to."

  
Misty continued to ruffle through her satchel.

  
"What are you looking for?" Cordelia asked.

  
"My walkman."

  
"It's in my desk drawer, remember? You asked me to keep it there until the scavenging team brought you batteries back."

  
Misty let out a groan.

  
"Right."

She sighed.

  
"Guess no music for me."

  
She stood back up and stretched her lean body. Cordelia watched Misty's shirt lift an inch over the edge of her skirt, revealing smooth pale skin.

  
"I'll guess I'll just sing to myself."

  
She kissed Cordelia's cheek before leaving the room. She made her way outside, under the early afternoon sun. The rumors of a thief seemed to have spread like wildfire, as everywhere Misty passed it was the only thing she could hear about. She walked around the vegetable patch and waved at Ashley and Dinah who were installing the new fences around the lettuce patch. She made her way to the path leading to the greenhouse. Spring seemed to have brought the entire area back to life. Chirping birds could be heard from dawn till dusk. The evergreens once again glowed emerald and not the snowy white Misty had grown accustomed to during the winter. The sun seemed to shine just a little bit brighter every day. As she walked, Misty hummed 'Edge of Seventeen' to herself.

  
The door to the greenhouse was closed, meaning the girls must have been done watering all the plants inside. Without surprise, the greenhouse was empty. Misty continued to hum as she rifled through the many bags of seeds that occupied the table in a corner. Succulents that had made it through the winter hung all over the table, slowly growing more impressive and sprouting new plants of their own.

  
Misty was thinking about replacing the flowers in the corner of the garden. The ones they'd planted the previous year had almost all died, and Coco's beehive remained there, empty. She had high hopes that the bees would soon return, but for that to happen they needed flowers. She needed flowers with a strong smell, something that would attract the bees. Bees would be helpful for the vegetable patch too. Misty decided if they managed to bring some back and if they settled in the beehive, she would plant some dahlias by the vegetable patch, so they could help spread the pollen and make more fruits.

  
There was a tiny bumping sound coming from behind her, like two flower pots scrapping together. She turned around with a frown.

  
"Is someone there?"

  
A second later, more pots scrapped together. Misty placed the bag on the table. She could feel her heart banging against her ribs. She hadn't felt like that in a long time, and never within the confines of the stone walls. Still, fear was slowly sipping into her bones. She began looking around, in every corner of the greenhouse, under each table, slowly. She checked the place they kept all of the empty flowerpots near the door but found nothing. Then, she slowly moved away from the door, making sure to stay between the door and wherever she was checking.

  
A tiny silhouette was hiding behind one of the bags of dirt and a few flowerpots containing the growing apple trees. Misty crouched at a respectable distance and leaned to the side to better see the person. It was a child, no older than ten, with messy long dark blond hair and piercing blue-green eyes. He was scrawny, in dirty, torn off clothes, a small backpack laying by his feet. A single, poorly healed gash cut his right cheek in half, almost forming a smile under his cheekbone. He cowered back, knocking a few more pots together with his feet as he tried to hide even more behind the bag of dirt. When he spoke, his voice was tired, tremoring with fear.

  
"Please don't kill me..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Who is that mysterious thief? I don't think I made it that difficult to guess, and I want to talk more about why and how but I'll keep that for tomorrow once we're more acquainted with him.  
> I finally managed to mention Nan, who was another character that I wanted to mention earlier in the story but didn't manage to. I do sincerely believe that Nan would thrive during the apocalypse, I can completely see her going full Mad Max and spreading chaos wherever she goes.  
> As promised I posted the first chapter of "Stand By Me" yesterday, if you haven't check it out yet it is officially available.  
> I had not realized that in a week this story would be over. How time flies... Hopefully you guys will enjoy this last arc of the story, I think it is going to be pretty interesting.  
> Anyway, as usual, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you tomorrow for the next one!


	18. The Flower Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Misty becomes more acquainted with the thief, a big decision needs to be taken.

Misty slowly held out her hand, and the child stopped fidgeting.

  
"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. Can I sit here so we can talk?"

  
After a moment of hesitation, the child gave a nod. Misty slowly sat down and folded her legs. She placed her hands on her knees.

  
"What's your name?" she asked.

  
The child was reluctant to talk, but eventually, he replied:

  
"Michael. Michael Harmon."

  
Misty smiled. Not a girl like Madison had first assumed, but a boy with long hair.

  
"It's nice to meet you, Michael. My name is Misty Day. What are you doing hiding over there?"

  
Michael stared at his feet, no longer capable to look at Misty as he replied:

  
"I stole food and there were girls with guns running after me, so I'm hiding from them."

  
Misty nodded.

  
"I see. Well, I came here to plant some flowers, you see, and I thought I was alone, so you surprised me a bit. But it's okay, the flowers can wait. Why don't we have a little chat instead?"

  
Michael gave a single nod. Misty asked:

  
"Are you alone out here?"

  
Michael nodded again. Misty decided not to push the subject yet.

  
"How old are you?"

  
"I'm eight."

  
"Wow, eight and all on your own out there. You must be very brave. I suppose that's why you were stealing food, right? Because you're alone and you were hungry and you didn't know what to do."

  
Michael didn't nod, but he continued to avoid Misty's gaze.

  
"It's alright, you don't have to feel bad about it," she assured. "I'm not mad at you, I understand."

  
Misty bit her lower lip as she thought of the next step to ensure Michael wouldn't run away.

  
"Hey, I have an idea. Are you still hungry?"

  
Michael nodded vigorously, his eyes looking in Misty's direction but not directly at her.

  
"How about you stay here, and I'll come back with something for you to eat. And also with a friend who can help you. Can I do that, come back with a friend?"

  
Michael seemed wary of the idea, as he tried to hide just a bit more behind the bag of dirt. Misty waited for an answer with a kind smile on her lips. It seemed enough to convince Michael.

  
"Okay."

  
"Awesome. Just wait here, don't move and I'll be right back," Misty promised.

  
She stood up and walked out of the greenhouse. Then, she began walking faster and faster until she reached the edge of the forest. She tried to cross the garden as casually as she could. She walked into the house and aimed straight for the pantry. At the last second, she saw one of Madison's girl standing watch, and she changed course and went for Cordelia instead. She knocked sharply on the door and walked in, closing the door behind her swiftly.

  
Cordelia looked up from her desk with an amused smile.

  
"Back already?"

  
Misty let out a long breath to calm her heart, then said:

  
"I found him."

  
Cordelia's smile turned into a frown of confusion.

  
"What?"

  
"The thief. His name is Michael, he's eight, and right now he's hiding in the greenhouse. I promised I'd be right back with food but I can't get into the pantry, and you need to help me because I have no idea what to do about him."

  
Cordelia stood up, still processing half of the information Misty had just dumped on her.

  
"You have the thief?"

  
"I don't have him, I left him in the greenhouse. He's absolutely terrified and wounded, and I think he needs our help."

  
Cordelia nodded.

  
"Okay, show me to him."

  
Misty opened the door and they walked out silently side by side. Upon passing through the kitchen Cordelia stopped by the pantry. Misty waited two feet away, biting her lip nervously. Molly remained on her chair and watched as Cordelia pulled out a probably past sell-date snowball, still wrapped in its transparent if slightly creased wrapper.

  
"You can write down that I took one," Cordelia told Molly, who actually had nothing on her to write what people took out of the pantry, and was still looking for a pen when Cordelia handed the snowball to Misty and the two walked away.

  
They crossed the garden in silence, trying to appear as normal as usual. Once they were in the shadows of the pines again, Cordelia asked lowly:

  
"You said his name is Michael?"

  
"Yes, Michael. He's eight and he's alone. I told him I was bringing him back something to eat, and a friend who could help him."

  
Cordelia nodded. Once they reached the greenhouse, Misty walked in first. Cordelia closed the door behind them and waited by the entrance. Misty rounded the table and returned to the spot she'd previously occupied. She crouched and saw with relief that Michael was still there.

  
"Do you want to come out or would you rather stay there?" she asked gently.

  
Michael did not answer first. From her position, Cordelia couldn't even see him, and Misty could have been talking to a ghost for all she knew.

  
"Can I stay?" Michael asked, his fearful voice breaking Cordelia's heart.

  
"Of course you can," Misty assured.

  
She sat down like before and leaned forward to hand Michael the snowball.

  
"Here you go, buddy."

  
Michael's eyes grew wide at the sight of the treat. He reached for it quickly and tore the paper off hurriedly. He took a large bite of it, and Misty was afraid he would forget to chew and choke on the thing.

  
"I brought my friend with me," Misty said, hoping to distract Michael from the snowball for a moment and giving him time to chew. "Can she sit down?"

  
Michael grew wary once again, but finally, he gave a nod. Misty waved Cordelia over. She walked closer slowly as if she were dealing with a wounded animal. At the sight of the child, she realized she wasn't too far off. She sat down beside Misty with a forced smile on her lips.

  
"Hello, Michael. My name is Cordelia. I'm here to help."

  
Michael took a good look at Cordelia before returning to his snowball, tearing another chunk off with his teeth.

  
"Misty told me you were alone. Have you been alone for a long time?"

  
Michael gave a tiny shrug, and talked with his mouth full:

  
"I don't know."

  
"It's okay. Is it true you're the one who stole food from the house?"

  
When Michael froze Cordelia tried to develop her question:

  
"I'm not mad, I just want to know. I promise you nothing will happen, all you did was trying to survive, and we can all understand that."

  
Misty nodded in turn. Michael pursed his lips. He swallowed his mouthful of snowball, then answered:

  
"I did. I tried not to take too much cause I didn't want to get into trouble, or make things worse for you guys."

  
"It's okay," Cordelia assured. "You did the right thing. Enjoy your snack, I'll go talk to Misty over there, okay?"

  
Cordelia stood up, and Misty was prompted to stand up in turn. They walked out of the greenhouse, and once the door was closed Cordelia let out a sigh.

  
"We have to let him stay," Misty said.

  
"I know we do, but this is... I know it's stupid, and you know that I want to help him, and let him stay, but it goes against the no boys rule. I can't just decide like that to end the rule, or make an exception for him."

  
Cordelia rubbed her temple as she let out another sigh.

  
"We need to call a council on this, I can't just make that choice alone. We need to convince them."

  
Misty crossed her arms.

  
"It shouldn't be too hard. I mean, he's an eight-year-old boy all on his own. They would have to be heartless monsters not to let him stay."

  
Still, there was uncertainty in Cordelia's eyes.

  
"Let's take him to my office, for now, leave him there while we discuss what to do."

  
Misty nodded. They walked back in. Michael was done eating and looking at the two adults expectedly.

  
"Michael," Cordelia addressed him, "we've decided to maybe let you stay. We still need to talk about it with the others, but we would like you to stay here with us."

  
Michael didn't move from behind the bag. Instead, he asked:

  
"But I'm a boy, and there are only girls here," he pointed out. "I can't stay."

  
"Why not?" Cordelia asked.

  
"Cause I should go where all the boys are."

  
Cordelia tried to find a way to explain. Misty found her words first:

  
"This is the only place we have. Only girls. You could be the first boy to stay here. Do you not want to stay with girls?"

  
"I just thought you wouldn't let me stay cause you only let girls stay."

  
Cordelia pursed her lips, leaving Misty to continue the conversation:

  
"Well, we want you to stay, and it doesn't matter if you're a girl or a boy. Do you want to stay here?"

  
Michael nodded.

  
"I like it here, except when the girls with the guns run after me."

  
"That won't happen again," Cordelia promised. "Just come with us, and we'll introduce you to the others, okay?"

  
With a bit of difficulty, Michael stood up and picked up his backpack. He was stuck behind the flowerpots so Misty had to carry him over. She was instantly surprised – and worried – by how light the boy was.

  
"Come on, let's go meet the others."

* * *

Michael walked out of the greenhouse in between Misty and Cordelia, observing around him. The closer they got to the edge of the forest the more anxious he seemed to grow. Misty offered her hand and he took it and held it firmly. They emerged into the garden, and nothing seemed to change at first. Then, some of the girls noticed the little figure between Cordelia and Misty, which they pointed out to their friends. The closer they got, the more they noticed at it wasn't a girl but a boy, and the whispers became louder and louder.

  
Michael was led in Cordelia's office. Everyone in the house stopped whatever they were doing and turned around to stare. Michael grew more and more uncomfortable with each step they took. Misty held his hand until they were hidden in the office. There, he sat down in one of the armchairs.

"Are you okay?" Cordelia asked.

  
Michael gave a little nod.

  
"You can stay here until we've decided what to do, okay? What would you like to do? We have some coloring book no one has touched yet, books, or if you just want to draw..."

  
"Can I?" Michael asked eagerly. "I like drawing."

  
"No problem."

  
Cordelia handed Michael a piece of paper, a pencil, and an eraser.

  
"Misty, can you find the others so we can start the meeting?"

  
Misty left the office and carefully closed the door behind her, as she went in search of Madison and Zoe, who were bound to be the more difficult ones to find. Cordelia sat in her office chair and watched Michael begin his drawing. After a few strokes, he paused and looked up with a frown.

  
"What if they don't want to let me stay?" he asked worriedly.

  
"I won't let that happen," Cordelia promised. "I'll make them understand why you need to stay. No more stealing for you, do you hear me? You're staying here."

  
Michael smiled, and Cordelia realized it was the first time he had smiled since they'd met.

  
"Thank you. You're very nice."

  
"You're welcome."

  
As Michael began to focus on his drawing again, the door to Cordelia's office opened suddenly, startling him.

  
"Cordelia, why do I hear everyone talking about you and Misty growing a child in the greenhouse?" Coco asked as she walked in.

  
She paused, her eyes falling on Michael instantly. The boy had frozen like a deer in headlights.

  
"No, Coco, Misty, and I have not grown a boy out of the cabbages. This is Michael, he was hiding in the greenhouse and we would like for him to stay. If you could help Misty find the others so we can have a council meeting..."

  
Coco gave a small nod.

  
"Yeah, no problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So, explanation time: Since this is a No Magic AU, it means no ghosts as well, which means Tate was never there to rape Vivien, which means Michael is not the Antichrist, but Ben's real son. I don't know if some of you had guessed it, I mean Michael has been a tagged character since I first posted this story. I hope that despite whoever you thought was the boy you are not disappointed.  
> I don't actually remember how or why I got the idea of bringing Michael into the story, since I don't particularly like him, and in fact I would say that I usually hate him, and he was a pretty good antagonist for season 8. But writing this version of him as just a normal kid has made me like him a little more. Just a little bit.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you tomorrow for the next one!


	19. Who Needs a Y?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The council debates over Michael's fate.

Misty went to get Cordelia once everyone was in the library. Cordelia smiled at Michael, who was still drawing, and told him that they would be right back. They closed the door behind them, and Cordelia took a deep breath.

  
"Ready?"

  
"Not exactly, but it's not like there's ever going to be a good time for this meeting."

  
They walked to the library. Almost as soon as Cordelia had closed the door Madison jumped to her feet and turned around to look at the older woman.

  
"What the fuck is going on? A boy?"

  
"Sit down, please. I'll explain everything."

  
Reluctantly, Madison sat back on the couch. Misty sat in her chair, but Cordelia remained standing, facing the entire group, but more specifically the ones on the couch.

  
"Misty found our thief. His name is Michael, he's eight, and he's all alone. And I want him to stay."

  
"He can't," Madison shouted back. "He's a boy."

  
"I know that this is why I called a council meeting. I think it's time we make the 'no-man rule' a bit more flexible."

  
Before Madison could reply, Zoe intervened:

  
"No way! Don't you remember what happened, why we decided on the rule in the first place? It hasn't even been a year."

  
This time, Mallory jumped into the conversation:

  
"Come on, you can't compare a bunch of rapists fuckboys to an eight-year-old."

  
"Then what about all the boys we kicked out?" Zoe continued. "When we voted the rule we kicked all of them out too. How is it fair to suddenly come back on it, and let a boy in, when we sent a dozen of them away last year?"

  
"No man is no man, no exceptions," Madison said.

  
"And even if we let him in," Queenie added, "he's gonna grow up eventually..."

  
Before the argument could escalate, Cordelia shouted:

  
"That's enough! Yes, we made some choices when we put the rule into place, yes entire families left, including the boys, but this is different. This is not two weeks into a situation we thought wouldn't last. This is a year. A year of barely any contact with anyone outside, and absolutely zero chance of returning to normality. And this boy is alone. No family, no one to take care of him. I think we should make an exception for him."

  
Madison rolled her eyes.

  
"That's how it always starts! Let's make an exception for this one, and then every little boy in the region is gonna come running to us, asking to be let in."

  
"I think you're being a bit ridiculous here."

  
"Am I? How the fuck are we supposed to stand firm and refuse to let men in when we have a boy around? We either don't let any in, or we let them all, but if you do, I can guarantee you that I won't let you, and I have the entire security team behind me."

  
"How many times are you going to threaten Cordelia with the security team?" Coco asked with annoyance. "Seriously!"

  
"Enough!" Cordelia shouted again. "Out there is a little boy who is waiting on us to decide whether he can stay or not. The least we can do is decide quickly."

  
"Fine," Madison said as she leaned back on the couch and crossed her arms. "I vote no."

  
"Me too," Zoe decided.

  
All eyes fell on Queenie, who after a moment of thoughtfulness, shook her head.

  
"They're right. No for me too."

  
"Well I vote yes," Mallory decided.

  
"I vote yes too," Coco agreed.

  
Cordelia looked at Misty who nodded with a smile.

  
"He can stay," Misty said.

  
"That's four against three," Cordelia said. "Michael stays."

  
Madison stood up with indignation. Before she could leave, Cordelia added:

  
"You don't have to like it and you don't have to talk to him, but we voted on this, and I'm not sending him back out there."

  
Madison paused by the door, then walked out. Zoe stood up to go after Madison.

  
"This is not over," she said. "It's going to keep coming back every time a new man comes up to us for help."

  
"If," Cordelia replied. "And even then, we will deal with it again, as a group, as we should."

  
Zoe gave a small nod but left the room soon after. Queenie sighed dramatically and stood up.

  
"I know he's probably a nice kid, but this is going to come back to bite us. Zoe's right, we're gonna need another meeting over this."

  
"We will," Cordelia agreed. "Once Michael is well integrated, we'll talk about the rule in more detail."

  
Once Queenie had left the room, Cordelia let out a sigh of her own.

  
"I hope Madison doesn't take it personally."

  
"She takes everything personally, even when it doesn't concern her," Mallory replied, making Cordelia smile.

  
"Alright, let's get Michael settled in. What time is it?"

  
"It's almost three," Coco replied after a glance at her watch.

  
"We have time before dinner then. Mallory, go and make sure one of the bathrooms is empty. Once Michael is clean I'll check the wound on his cheek. Coco if you find anything that might fit him bring them out. He's gonna need a bed... Is there still space in the basement?"

  
"I think we can fit another mattress down there," Mallory replied.

  
"Good. Once he's clean we'll introduce him to some of the girls his age. Misty, do you mind taking him in your team?"

  
"Of course not. We'll take all the help we can get."

  
"Perfect."

  
The group emerged out of the library. Coco went to the garage where they stored the spare clothes while the others walked back to Cordelia's office. Michael was still there, finishing his drawing. When he heard the door opening he turned around and said:

  
"I heard a lot of shouting, is everything okay?"

  
"Don't worry," Cordelia assured. "Everything is fine, and we've decided to let you stay."

  
A wide smile spread on Michael's lips, making the cut on his cheek pull up into a second smile.

  
"This is Mallory, she's going to show you to the bathroom so you can take a bath."

  
Michael's eyes grew wide.

  
"A bath! I can do that?"

  
"Of course you can. Once you're done I'll come to see if I can do something about your cut."

  
Michael jumped out of his chair and picked up his backpack.

  
"It's okay, it doesn't hurt anymore. I got a bunch of cuts everywhere anyway, but they don't hurt when I touch them, so it's fine," he said casually.

  
Cordelia and Mallory exchanged a glance. Michael walked out of the room and Mallory led him up the stairs. Cordelia and Misty stepped into their room but let the door open.

  
"He's such a sweet kid," Misty said, "there's no way the others won't change their minds. Even Madison."

  
Cordelia didn't reply, instead, she looked at the drawing Michael had made. It wasn't bad compared to what the girls his age made. He had drawn five people and a dog, which Cordelia instantly understood to be his family. His parents, an older sister, and a brother around his age, maybe even a twin seeing as they were the same size in the drawing.

  
"I wonder how he made it outside for so long," Cordelia said. "Do you think he got separated from his family?"

  
Misty looked at the drawing in turn.

  
"Maybe. Could be they're looking for him. Or..."

  
Silence fell between them, as some things were better left unsaid. There was a light knock on the office door. They turned around to find a small group of girls, led by Tina.

  
"Is it true what they said? You let a boy stay?"

  
"It's true," Cordelia replied. "His name is Michael, he's eight and he's on his own."

  
"But he's a boy."

  
"Well, for once we'll make an exception and let him stay, even if he's a boy."

  
The group walked away, talking and whispering to each other. Cordelia's shoulders tensed with worry. Misty instantly felt the shift and went to give her lover a side hug.

  
"It'll be fine. They just haven't been around boys for a year, just give them a bit of time to adjust."

  
Cordelia could only nod.

* * *

When Michael came out of his bath, his hair wet and in a clean change of clothes, Cordelia let him sit in her office chair while she took a look at the cut. It was pretty deep and dark red, but it was healed. It would have required stitches when he'd gotten it, but for now, all she could do was pass one last swipe of disinfectant, even if it was useless.  
"How did you cut yourself like that?" she asked.

  
"I fell and I hit a rock, not far from here."

  
Cordelia nodded.

  
"Have you seen many people out there?"

  
"Not up the mountain. The people are mostly down where there are more houses. But Violet told me to stay away from the people so I did."

  
"Violet? That's your sister, right? I saw the drawing you made."

  
Michael gave a small nod, and from the way his body seemed to cave on itself, Cordelia could tell she'd pulled on a painful string.

  
"Yeah. She's very smart, she showed me the trick with the laser pointer. It doesn't work with all cameras, but it's fun to blind them anyway."

  
Cordelia decided not to push the subject.

  
"Here, all done. Unfortunately, I can't do much, so you'll have to keep looking like an action hero for the rest of your life."

  
Michael laughed and jumped out of the chair. His hair fell over his eyes as he did and he had to push them back. Cordelia noticed and suggested:

  
"Do you want me to cut your hair? Or perhaps we should ask Coco for that, she's the expert."

  
Michael shook his head.

  
"I like my hair like that."

  
"Alright. Well then, let me show you to your room."

  
Michael once again picked up his backpack and followed Cordelia out of her office. As they reached the door leading to the basement, they found an entire group of girls standing in front of it. Cordelia frowned but decided to ignore the girls' strange behavior.

  
"Girls, this is Michael. He's going to be moving into the basement with you."

  
"The basement is for girls only," Hazel said.

  
Cordelia tried to not get angry.

  
"Girls, come on, be nice."

  
"Girls only," Marnie shouted back.

  
"Don't make me give everyone extra chores," Cordelia warned.

  
"It's okay," Michael said. "I can sleep on the couch if they don't..."

  
"Nobody sleeps on the couch," Cordelia replied. "Girls, you have to be nice with Michael, okay? He's new, he's been on his own for a while now. Do you think you would like it if you arrived somewhere and suddenly the people there wouldn't let you sleep in a bed?"

  
The girls exchanged a few glances. Reluctantly, they moved out of the way. Cordelia led Michael downstairs.

  
"I'm sorry, they are not usually like that. If they don't want to let you down again come talk to me."

  
Michael nodded. Cordelia showed him his mattress and left him there to settle down.

  
"Dinner is in a few hours, and tomorrow you'll have to work with Misty on the garden outside. Do you know how to garden?"

  
Michael shook his head.

  
"It's alright, Misty will show you."

  
Michael smiled.

  
"Thank you."

  
Cordelia smiled back.

  
"No problem."

  
Cordelia left Michael alone in the basement as she made her way back up. The group of girls was still standing by the door, and Cordelia gave them all a glare that could burn down the entire forest.

  
"Who started this?" she asked.

  
All the girls started to point to each other incoherently, incapable of giving a clear answer.

  
"I expected more from you. Try to feel what he must have felt, and be a bit nicer to him, okay?"

  
The girls nodded.

  
"I'm not asking you to make friends with him if you don't want to, but at least be nice to him, alright? And if I hear any of you, or anyone else, pull something like this again, they will be cleaning everyone's dirty laundry for a month."

  
This seemed good enough of a threat, as the group dispersed, and a few of them walked down into the basement. Cordelia let out a sigh, feeling a headache coming up. This, she knew, would only be the beginning of a whole new mess she would have to deal with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> For those of you who might be curious, the cut on Michael's cheek came from the one he had after Mallory ran him over.  
> This morning I tried writing a new foxxay story but I've also started reading this very very long slow burn and yeah... I also wanted to start working on the sequel to "Stand By Me", I made a whole point by point development for Zoe and Madison's relationship yesterday but I need to have seen season 9 before I can write it, because I want them to visit Camp Redwood. The problem is that Netflix France is always late, and I have no idea when season 9 will be available there... I think I'm gonna have to go the illegal route...  
> Anyway, just two more chapters and an epilogue to go! I'll see you tomorrow for the next one!


	20. Don't You Cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael's first day in the coven

Michael slept like a rock, to the point that Marnie was sent to wake him up, or he would have missed breakfast altogether. He was still yawning when he followed the farming team outside. Misty introduced him to the rest of the team, whose reaction varied from wariness to disdain. Misty decided to keep him close for his first few days, as everyone else knew what they were supposed to do already.

  
"Today we are planting carrots," she explained to him, a bag of seeds in hands. "So, here is how it works. You make a hole about this big, then you put a seed in it. Then you close it back up. You make another one about a foot from the first one, and you start again. Go on, try."

  
Michael crouched beside Misty, his hair falling in front of his eyes. He brushed them away and made a hole where Misty had shown him, pushing a few fingers into the dirt. Then, he brushed his dirty hand on his pants and grabbed a seed from the bag Misty was holding. He placed it in and closed up the hole as instructed. Then, he looked up at Misty who smiled approvingly.

  
"Good job, just like that. Now we just have to fill in the three rows there."

  
Michael's eyes widened, but Misty brushed his worry aside.

  
"It's not gonna take long, don't worry. Come on, you start and once you've done this row we'll change, you'll hold the bag for me, okay?"

  
Michael nodded. He sidled along the row, his hair once again falling in front of his face.

  
"Hold on."

  
Misty asked the rest of the team:

  
"Does anyone have a spare elastic band?"

  
The others exchanged weird glances at the idea that Misty would tie back her hair for the first time in a year. Eventually, Ashley pulled one from her wrist and handed it over.

  
"Here."

  
"Thanks."

  
Misty crouched beside Michael and handed him the bag.

  
"Hold that for me, will you?"

  
Carefully, Michael held the small bag with both hands. Misty tied back his hair into a small neat ponytail.

  
"Here you go, no more hair trouble."

  
Michael smiled and gave the bag back to Misty before getting back to work.

  
It took the rest of the morning to plant the carrots, but once he was done Michael had the honor of watering them, which he did gleefully. Come lunchtime, Misty declared:

  
"Good work girls. And Michael. I think tomorrow we'll plant some of the tomatoes out of the greenhouse, what do you think?"

  
Misty always asked the girls their thoughts on what they should do next, but no one ever answered because they knew nothing beyond what Misty had taught them.

  
"Don't forget to bring everything back to the greenhouse before lunch," she instructed as usual.

  
Then, she turned to Michael.

  
"Go wash your hands before lunch, I'll go put the seeds back."

  
Michael nodded and hurried inside with everyone else. Misty took a short trip to the greenhouse with a smile. Maybe Cordelia had been worried over nothing, and soon enough no one would care that Michael was a boy, she thought as she walked. She certainly didn't see a reason against it.

* * *

In the afternoon Misty went to plant the flowers she hadn't planted the previous day. She pulled a few flowerpots, spread them over the table, and got to work. She was filling the pots with dirt when she heard the door opening behind her. She looked behind her and saw Michael walk in, his hair once again freed from the elastic band.

  
"What are you doing here?" she asked with surprise. "You've done enough work for the day, you can go play now."

  
Michael shrugged.

  
"Some of the girls wanted to play Monopoly but I don't like it. I don't like to read and I didn't want to borrow anyone's drawing stuff."

Misty nodded.

  
"What are you doing?"

  
"I'm going to plant some flowers, and then I'll place them in the garden, to try and bring bees back."

  
Michael came to stand beside Misty wand watched her fill the pots with dirt.

  
"I haven't seen bees in a long time. Or animals. Like, I heard birds, but I haven't seen any yet."

  
"Spring has just started," Misty pointed out. "I'm sure more animals will return soon."

  
Misty moved to one of the tables, bringing her flowerpots with her. Michael jumped on the table beside her, his legs swinging rhythmically. He watched as Misty expertly opened the pack of seeds.

  
"I heard you were the last to come here before me."

  
"Really? Who told you that?"

  
"Some of the girls. They said a bunch of guys ran after you and that's how you ended up here."

  
"Yeah, that's basically how it happened."

  
"So you were alone too, before?"

  
Misty stopped covering up the seeds with dirt and looked at Michael. He was looking down at his feet, the cut on his cheek smiling even when he didn't want to.

  
"I was. But I was alone even before the end of the world, that didn't change. Not like you."

  
Michael gave a small nod.

  
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

  
Michael shook his head.

  
"I don't like to think about it."

  
"It's okay, you're not the only one here."

  
Misty moved the first pot away and brought the second in front of her.

  
"I have an idea," Misty started, trying to cheer Michael up, "Why don't you ask Mallory to bring you back a notepad, so you can draw?"

  
"I can do that?"

  
"Of course you can. It might take the scavenging team a bit of time to find it, but it's always good to ask. I asked her to bring me batteries next time they go out."

  
"Why?"

  
"Cause my walkman is dead, and I can't listen to my music while I come here until I've changed the batteries."

  
Michael watched as Misty's hands pulled dark earth over the seeds, uncaring of getting dirty.

  
"Is that what you do for fun? Come here and listen to music while you garden? Do you garden all the time?!"

  
Misty chuckled.

  
"Not all the time. But I do like it here, it's calm, no one comes to bother me, usually," she added as she booped Michael's nose, leaving a bit of dirt behind. He groaned and rubbed his face with his sleeve.

  
"I don't really like gardening," Michael replied, once his nose was mostly clear of dirt. "We used to have a big garden, and once mom made us help her plant a bunch of rose bushes, but I kept prickling my fingers. But planting the carrots was alright."

  
"Well, it's either that or cooking the meals, but if you'd like to change, I can always..."

  
"No, it's okay," Michael cut her off. "I like spending time with you."

* * *

Misty thought she'd heard a tiny knock at her bedroom door. It might have been in her dreams. She felt Cordelia shift behind her. Another small knock and they both knew they hadn't dreamed. Cordelia stood up and went to open the door. Marnie was standing on the other side, clutching her teddy bear against her chest.

  
"What's wrong, Marnie?" Cordelia asked with as much compassion she could manage barely a minute after being woken up in the middle of the night.

  
"Michael is making weird noises and it woke me up."

  
"What kind of weird noises?"

  
"Kind of like a hurt puppy."

  
Cordelia and Misty exchanged a look, and Misty got out of bed quickly. The two of them followed Marnie into the basement. Marnie wasn't the only one awake, as most of the girls in the basement sat up upon hearing footsteps coming down. Michael was sleeping in a corner, curled into a small ball, and whimpering in his sleep. The two adults understood quickly that he was having a nightmare. Cordelia kneeled beside him and shook him lightly.

  
"Michael? Michael, wake up, you're having a nightmare..."

  
Michael's eyes finally opened and he sat up, confused. He looked around, just to see a dozen girls staring at him. He quickly brushed the tears out of his eyes and sniffed.

  
"Come on, let's get you a glass of water, okay?" Cordelia suggested as she helped the boy to his feet.

  
Misty held out a hand and Michael took it quickly. Together they climbed out of the basement. Cordelia turned to the others and said:

  
"Girls, go back to sleep, alright? We'll make sure Michael is okay."

  
All at once, the girls lied back down. Cordelia left the basement and closed the door behind her. She found Michael seating on the couch in the living room, and Misty seating on the coffee table in front of him, waiting for Michael to be done drinking. Cordelia came to sit beside Michael.

  
"Are you feeling better?" she asked lowly so as not to wake anyone else up.

  
Michael finished the glass and nodded, though tears still ran down his eyes.

  
"I'll go back to sleep now," he decided, though he didn't move from the couch.

  
"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Misty prompted again.

  
Michael shook his head.

  
"I just dreamed about my family, it's all."

  
Misty and Cordelia waited for Michael to stand up and return to the basement, but he didn't move. He remained completely still on the couch, seemingly fighting with himself. The two adults looked at each other, trying to see what their next move should be. Cordelia tentatively placed a hand on Michael's shoulder.

  
"Michael..."

  
Before she could finish calling out his name Michael threw himself into her arms, big tears rolling down his cheeks. Cordelia hugged him back, running a soothing hand over his slim back.

  
"It's okay..."

  
Misty watched as Cordelia comforted the little boy. His red eyes opened just enough to find Misty, and she was struck by the sight of his grieved expression. He looked like a small angel, thrown out of heaven, who'd done nothing but plummet further and further down with no chance of ever reaching paradise again. She placed the glass of water beside her and moved to sit beside him. There, she wrapped both Michael and Cordelia into a hug. The boy didn't complain and let himself be held as he sobbed uncontrollably.  
After a few minutes of sobbing, Michael seemed to find his voice again:

  
"It wasn't my fault..." he said. "Violet told me to run and..."

  
"Shush," Cordelia said. "It's okay..."

  
"When everything happened... we got separated from mom and dad and Jeff... And Vi said they were dead... And then those guys came after us... And she said to run... So I did... And when I stopped she wasn't behind me... I abandoned her..."

  
Michael dissolved into sobs, his voice breaking. Cordelia and Misty continued to soothe him until he'd calmed down. They shared a glance over the boy, knowing exactly what the other was thinking. Once his sobs had reduced to small whimpers, Cordelia pulled away from him a bit. She took his head in her hands and brushed the tear-streams from his cheeks.

  
"Listen to me, Michael. None of this was your fault, do you understand? There was nothing that you could have done. I know it's hard to understand, but you have to believe me when I say that you did the right thing. Your sister told you to run and you did. You were very brave."

  
Michael gave a small, uncertain nod.

  
"Do you think that you're going to be okay now, or are you scared to go back to sleep?"

  
"I'm scared..." Michael admitted in a small voice.

  
Cordelia nodded. Another silent conversation with Misty told her exactly what they needed to do.

  
"Do you want to sleep with us for the rest of the night?"

  
Michael nodded again. Misty let go of him, and the three of them walked to Cordelia's office. Michael still seemed a bit hesitant about the idea, but Cordelia said:

  
"Don't worry. A lot of the girls your age had the same problem when they first arrived. Marnie even pretended to have nightmares just so she could slip into my bed."

  
Michael chuckled. Cordelia closed the door behind them. Michael slipped into bed with a yawn. Misty slipped into her usual side, wrapping her arms around Michael who let himself be held. Cordelia, not wanting to overwhelm him, decided against a Michael sandwich, and slid behind Misty instead. She entwined one of her hands with Misty's as it rested on Michael's arm. The young boy closed his eyes and drifted slowly to sleep, leaning closer to Misty as he did. Cordelia pressed a kiss on Misty's shoulder, then rested her head against her back. Misty, finding herself unexpectedly trapped, smiled. She pressed a light kiss on Michael's head, then closed her eyes and waited for sleep to return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Just one more chapter to go! I'll also post the epilogue tomorrow, because I'm not a criminal.  
> Honestly, I do have a lot to say about the ending, but I'll keep it all for tomorrow. I haven't written any new story yet, and with but a single day left with content, I think next week might just be my first time not posting something AHS related since the 17th of March! How crazy is that? A month and a half of daily posting in this fandom! Have I paid my admittion fees yet?  
> Anyway, as usual, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you tomorrow for the ending!


	21. Lazy Spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Spring Harvest Festival is organized

_359 days after the end of the world_

  
Cordelia wanted to organize a spring harvest festival. However, once the farming team had been done harvesting most of what had grown, they were so tired that Misty requested a lazy harvest festival instead. So they did. A few of the blankets were spread out over the grass, among the tiny wildflowers, and groups scattered around the garden, enjoying the sun. The children that still had too much energy organized a game of hide-and-seek, and ran around the garden laughing.

  
Cordelia and Misty had taken an entire blanket just for themselves. The plan had been to lay side by side and enjoy the sunshine before the inevitable April showers forced everyone inside for a couple of days. However, they had fallen asleep. Misty lay on her back, her straw hat over her face. Cordelia had begun by her side, holding her hand. Half an hour later, she was curled against her lover's side, her forehead against her shoulder and her hand resting against Misty's belly.

  
That was the position Misty found her in when she came to. She picked up her hat off her head to get a better view of her lover, her steady breathing, the way the sun fell on her skin, and made her hair glow like strings of gold. She smiled, her heart fluttering in her chest. She placed a kiss on Cordelia's head, and in an attempt to better protect her from the sun, she eased her hat over Cordelia's head. She held her breath, but when the older blonde didn't react, she relaxed.

  
She looked up at the puffy white clouds crossing the sky too quickly. According to Coco's calculation, the first anniversary of the end of the world was just around the corner. Meaning that she'd missed her birthday. And Cordelia's. And they'd suddenly figured out that Marnie was seven, and Michael nine, and Ashley was a legal adult – whatever that meant anymore. This didn't feel like the end of the world, not anymore anyway. This felt like an afternoon in the park. When she looked to her side, Misty could see the children running around, and the teenagers hidden in the shadow of the pine, talking. Queenie in the lounging chair that basically had her name on it. Mallory reading under a tree. Coco changing position every few minutes to get the best possible tan while also being comfortable. Madison and Zoe also sharing a blanket, Zoe making a flower crown with the flowers a few of the little girls brought her back while Madison pretended not to observe her underneath her sunglasses.

  
Misty's left arm, under Cordelia, was falling asleep. She tried to move her fingers lightly, to hold Cordelia even a little bit. Slowly, she managed to shift her arm from under the older blonde without jolting her and making her roll closer all at once. Her straw hat slid back, and Misty picked it up and left it beside her. She began playing with the curls at the end of Cordelia's hair, absentmindedly, as she thought about her crazy situation.

  
She wouldn't have ever met Cordelia if some idiots hadn't decided to blow up a bunch of cities. So really, she should thank them for trying and failing to end humanity, she concluded.

  
"I can hear you think from over here."

  
Misty looked down as Cordelia steered against her, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and shifting to settle more comfortably against her. Misty smiled down at her.

  
"I have never been happier than after the world ended," she said.

  
"That's a strange conclusion to draw," Cordelia said with an amused smile.

  
"Well, it's true."

  
Cordelia pushed herself up to kiss Misty. Misty threaded her fingers through her lover's hair, pulling her closer. Something suddenly fell on the back of Cordelia's head. She frowned and sat up. She felt around for it. Misty had to sit up and pull the daisy out of her hair. Beside them, Marnie was giggling.

  
"Get a room you two," she said.

  
"Who taught you that?" Cordelia asked with a frown.

  
"Coco. She said it's to make people stop kissing. Cause it's gross. Kissing is gross."

  
Marnie ran away toward Zoe to give her more flowers. Cordelia shouted after her:

  
"We'll talk about this again when you're eighteen!"

  
Marnie ignored her completely. Misty, who still had the flower in her hand, tugged it behind Cordelia's ear. She kissed her cheeks and moved to sit closer to her, her legs on either side of her lover. Cordelia leaned back against her. The light blush on her cheeks caused by the flower over her ear was slowly dissipating.

  
"You know, we've known each other for 305 days," Cordelia noted.

  
"Really? How did you count that? I don't even know what day it was when I arrived."

  
"The 26th of May," Cordelia replied.

  
When Misty gave her a curious look she explained:

  
"I have a calendar in my office, did you never notice?"

  
"I did, I thought it was passed-date."

  
"No, that was last year's. It stopped in January. From now on, we're on our own."

  
"I think we've been on our own for a bit longer than that," Misty replied, as she nuzzled closer and began placing soft kisses along Cordelia's neck.

  
Cordelia hummed and tilted her head to the side, allowing access to more skin to her lover.

  
"You know what I mean. If we don't keep track of time, we'll have no way of knowing what month it is, what year. I could be turning fifty and I wouldn't even know it."

  
"You've still got a long way to go before fifty," Misty replied. "I mean, you just turned twenty-five, didn't you?"

  
Cordelia rolled her eyes but didn't correct her. Misty continued to pepper every inch of Cordelia's neck. Once she was done, she moved on to her jaw, then back up to her lips. Cordelia's arms rested on Misty's shoulder as she leaned into the kiss.

  
When they pulled away, they remained in each other's arms, surveying their surroundings. A small buzzing sound vibrated in the air, as a single bee flew over them, and landed squarely on the flowers in the corner of the garden. Misty noticed and tried to keep calm and not read too much into it. Nature would need time to heal, and they couldn't press it.

  
Michael crossed the garden with his own small bouquet of flowers in hand, and zigzag between all the blankets until he stopped by Zoe and Madison's. After talking with Zoe for a moment, he sat down with his back to her, handing her the flowers. There, she began to braid his long hair and placed flowers through them. Madison stared from her reclined position and stole a single flower from his collection to place it into her hair.

  
"I guess you were right," Cordelia said, pointing to Michael. "They changed their minds."

  
"Zoe, maybe, but Madison is going to need a bit more time."

  
"Time is basically all we have these days."

  
"Good, cause I don't want to spend another second without you."

* * *

They stayed on the blanket until the sun had disappeared behind the pines, and the sky was illuminated with orange. The wind brought the nightly air over the garden, prompting almost everyone inside. Cordelia left the blanket just long enough to grab their sweaters, then returned outside.

  
They once again lied side by side on the blanket, holding hands, until the burning clouds, pushed by the wind, gave way to millions of stars. Nestled together, they watched each tiny spec of light turn on in the purple sky. The moon became brighter by the minute as all the light of the day left the air. They were the only ones left outside. No one bothered to tell them that the lazy festival was over, or that dinner was ready.

  
"Today was amazing," Misty decided.

  
"Today's not over yet."

  
"Doesn't matter. We should do today more often."

  
"Truest words were never spoken."

  
Misty felt this was the perfect night for a shooting star. Just the two of them watching the night sky. It felt like at any moment, a shooting star would pass through, draw a bright light across the milky way, and disappear the next second. She didn't really know what she would wish for, but it felt like the perfect moment for it.

  
"So, I have something for you," Cordelia said.

  
Misty was sad to see her sit up and to feel her hand leaving hers. Cordelia had placed her hands in her sweater's pockets as if she were looking for something. Misty sat up, bringing the older woman back into action. She pulled out something from her pocket. A newspaper package, like the one she'd given her for Christmas.

  
"Before you open it, just hear me out."

  
A slight frown formed on Misty's brows, but she still nodded. This seemed very serious for a simple gift.

  
"You know what you said earlier, about how you had never been happier than since the world ended? I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out too. That I'm happier now that the world has ended. But I'm happy because of you. Somehow destiny brought us together even after I thought destiny didn't exist anymore. So I know this is worthless, it doesn't mean anything anymore. But I still want to do it, if you agree."

  
She handed the gift with a trembling hand. Misty's heart stumbled in her chest as she tried to open it. A pair of rings fell out of it. She inspected them closely. Under the glimmer of the moon, she noticed that the two rings were the same, two simple silver bands, without a single engraving or mark on them. Misty looked up at Cordelia, unsure whether she'd understood the situation correctly.

  
"You want to get married?"

  
"Kinda," Cordelia replied nervously. "As I said, it doesn't mean anything anymore, there's no one to officially marry us, but..."

  
While Misty was still trying to wrap her mind around the situation, Cordelia continued to ramble:

  
"Maybe it's too soon, I don't know... I was going to wait for our first anniversary, or as close as possible to it, but what you said earlier, and I'm tired of wasting time..."

  
Misty placed her free hand on Cordelia's cheek, trying to contain her nervous rambling with a smile.

  
"Do you want it to mean somethin'?" Misty asked.

  
"What?"

  
"The marriage? You wouldn't have asked me if it didn't mean anything to you. So, do you want to marry me?"

  
"That's supposed to be my question," Cordelia noted with a watery, happy smile. "But yes, I don't care. Three-hundred days or not, I want you to be my wife. Is that crazy?"

  
"Well since I'm agreeing, it kinda makes us both crazy, so who cares?"

  
Misty sniffed. She hadn't realized that she'd started crying until she felt Cordelia brushing her tears away.

  
"So, when are we doing this crazy thing?" Misty asked.

  
"How about right now? I mean, apparently, we already have an audience anyway."

  
They both looked to the house, where thirty-eight girls and one boy were pressed up against each other at every available window, looking at the couple.

  
"You may kiss the bride," Queenie shouted.

  
Before Cordelia could tell her that she'd skipped a few steps, she was pulled into a kiss by Misty. She felt her entire body tingling as if a magic spell was being cast over them. Thunderous applause resounded in the entire valley as everyone clapped. It took a couple more seconds for the newlyweds to move apart. Then, Misty held out the rings.

  
"Which one's mine?" she asked.

  
"They're both the same, Mallory found them on display in the jewelry section of the mall."

  
Misty laughed as Cordelia took one of the rings and slid it around her finger. It was a bit too big for her. She took hers and placed it around Cordelia's finger. It was just a size too big. They kissed again. Then, Misty let her head rest against Cordelia's shoulder, her eyes falling on the ocean of stars above them.

  
"So, where are we going for the honeymoon?"

  
"I was going to suggest our bedroom?"

  
Cordelia leaned closer and whispered in her wife's ear:

  
"Let's just wait until everyone is off to bed..."

  
"Fine by me."


	22. Epilogue

_4391 days after the end of the world_

  
The mountain pass was reputed to be dangerous, but if they wanted to make it to the exchange in time, they had no choice. Plus, there were three of them, armed with the most expensive weapons they could get their hands on, and the two slaves, of course. They feared nothing.

  
They were making their way down toward the valley when a strange sound made the man at the front pause. It sounded like metallic clickings, like the wheels of a shopping cart rolling forward. The man lifted his rifle with his only free hand, the other holding the metal chain of the slaves. His aim was wobbly at best. With a motion of the head, he signaled for his two companions to approach.

  
Someone appeared out of the turn, seemingly just as surprised to see them as they were to see him. It was a young man wearing a yellow tee-shirt with the name 'Pine Valley' written on it, a jean jacket and an old pair of pants. He had chin-length blond hair, giving him a scruffy look. A single, poorly-healed scar ran over his cheek, like a second smile. He was pushing a shopping cart with a tarpaulin folded and tapped to the metal frame, each wheel different from its sisters, and a cloth thrown on top, hiding the content of the cart.

  
"Oh, hello," he said with a kind smile. "I didn't know other people took that road."

  
All three slavers lifted their guns and aimed at him. He was quick to lift his hands, showing that he was unarmed.

  
"Hey guys, come on, no need for that. I'll just be on my way, okay?"

  
"What's in the cart?" one of the slavers asked.

  
"In there? Just a bunch of snakes," the young man replied. "Just a bunch of snakes I found down in the valley. I make snake stew, it's pretty good. If your interested, I can sell you some."

  
Unconvinced, the three slavers exchanged looks.

  
"Step away."

  
"Oh come on guys, don't be like that."

  
"I said, step away."

  
The young man sighed but did as he was told, taking a few steps away from the cart but never turning his back on them. The man still holding the slaves looked at one of the other two guys to send him to the cart. There was a zip in the air, followed by two loud gunshots. The slaves jumped back in fear, surprised to suddenly find the rope holding them had loosened. One of the slavers had an arrow through the throat, the other two bullets in the head. The three had fallen to the ground like dominoes, one pushing the other.

  
Out of the bushes, three women emerged, holding weapons with varying degrees of tension. One pointed her rifle at the slavers in case one of them got back up, while the one with the bow was leaning back on it carelessly. The young man high-fived them all.

  
"That was amazing! Now let's promise never to tell Cordelia I did that or she will kill me."

  
The group collectively turned to the slaves still in chains. A young man and a young woman, about the same age as their saviors. They visibly looked tired, dirty, and bloodied from having fought back. Both their arms and legs were bounds by chains, and a scarf was wrapped around their mouth to prevent them from speaking.

  
"Find the keys, take the rest," the young man instructed.

  
He approached the slaves with caution.

  
"Hey, guys. My name is Michael, this is Rose, Ana, and Marnie. We're going to get you out there, okay? We don't want to hurt you, we only want to help. Are we good?"

  
Tentatively, the two of them nodded.

  
"Awesome."

  
Michael went around each of them, removing their gags. Once the keys were found in the pockets of one of the dead slavers, the chains were unlocked and left on the ground, forgotten.

  
"Thank you," the girl said. "My name's Emily, this is Timothy."

  
"Nice to meet you guys," Michael replied. "Now, I know you're probably still a bit shaken, but decision time. Do you want to go on your way or come with us? We'll give you everything you need to go on your own if you want to, but..."

  
Behind him, Ana rolled her eyes.

  
"Here we go again..."

  
"What? I'm just asking."

  
"Where are you guys going?" Timothy asked, still massaging his jaw.

  
"We have a home, just a mile up the mountain. If you feel like coming with us. It's safe, we get a raider attack every five years, ish. And even if you don't want to stay, it's fine. Just a few days, to rest?"

  
Emily and Timothy looked at each other. Finally, Emily shrugged.

  
"Sure, let's go."

* * *

Michael rolled his shopping cart up the hill, his guards walking behind him. Emily and Timothy walked beside him.

  
"It's lucky for you guys today was scavenging day. Sometimes we see them walking around the house, so we help whenever we can, but hey, it's a systemic problem, what can we do?"

  
They reached an old plastic gate, somehow still white after all these years. Michael pulled the walkie-talkie from the back of his belt and called out:

  
"Big House this is Coven Boy. We're back and we saved two people on the way back. Can you warn Cordelia we're coming up?"

  
Nothing happened at first. Michael looked up at the camera, and finally, the gate opened.

  
"Thank you, Madison."

  
He placed the walkie-talkie back on his belt and led the group up a concrete road. To Emily and Timothy's surprise, large farming parcels were hidden behind the stone walls. A few small wooden shacks had been built at the edges of the fields, some in better states than others.

  
"Oh, I forgot to mention," Michael continued. "We had a raider attack a few weeks ago. Nothing big, they won't trouble us again, but we're not done rebuilding everything they destroy. Finding windows these days is pretty hard. And yes, before you asked, that's how Cordelia got wounded, so don't mind it. She'll be back to one hundred percent in no time."

  
Emily and Timothy frowned, somewhat overwhelmed by both the flow of information and the house rising out of the trees in front of them. Almost as soon as they reached the top of the slope, a small group of children ran up to them, to take the cart and the backpacks the scavenging team carried. Michael then led Emily and Timothy inside.

  
The house was bustling with activity. Between the people coming and going, those hanging out in the living room or preparing food in the kitchen. Neither Emily nor Timothy could remember seeing so many people – civilized people – in the same place at the same time.

  
Heavy footfalls, accompanied by the tapping of a cane, echoed in the entrance hall. The newly arrived turn to see a blonde woman walking down the stairs with the help of a black polished cane. She smiled at them.

  
"Hey, mom!" Michael said jokingly. "We saved two people on the way back."

  
"Do I want to know what kind of stupid plan you came up with this time?" the woman asked.

  
"I'll leave you three to talk," Michael decided as he hurriedly left toward the kitchen.

  
Once the woman had reached the bottom of the stairs, she said with a smile:

  
"I'm Cordelia. Welcome to our little coven."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So this is the end...  
> The wedding proposal of chapter 21 was not planned. I just needed something to make the chapter longer and this seemed nice. I'm also a true believer in recycling, so I just had to dust Emily and Timothy out of the closet for a brief appearance.  
> I almost thought about adding a few chapters, recently. I realized this story could have ended more violently. I had ideas about a group of people attacking the Coven and the girls having to defend their home. But then I knew I would never have the gut to kill anyone of the main characters, which made the attack kind of pointless. So I did not add more violence. I kept it light and fluffy, which is what this story was always meant to be anyway.  
> I want to thank every single one of you for reading this story till the end! It's been a while since I've written such a long story. And thank you everyone for commenting and leaving kudos! I don't know when I'll be back with more, so in the meantime, I hope you have a nice virus-free month!


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